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THE  LIBRARY 
OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


This  book  is  issued  in  March,  1933, 
as  one  of  the  Centennial  publications 
of  New  York  University,  Washington 
Square,  New  York,  and  is  a  repro- 
duction of  the  original  edition  printed 
in  iSji. 


JOURNAL. 


JOURNAL 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  A   CONVENTION 


LITERARY    AND    SCIENTIFIC    GENTLEMEN, 


HELD  IN  THE 


COMMON    COUNCIL    CHAMBER 


OF   THE   CITY  OF   NEW  YORK, 


OCTOBER, 1830. 


N* w  fork : 

JONATHAN  LEAVITT  AND  G.   &   C.   &  H.   CARVILL. 

William  A.  Mercein,  Printer,  No.  240  Pearl  street,  corner  of  Burling  Slip. 
1831. 


SOUTHERN  DISTRICT  OF  NEW  YORK,  ss. 

Be  it  Remembered,  That  on  the  23d  day  of  November,  A.  D.  1830,  in  the 
55th  year  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  JOHN 
DELAFIELD,  of  the  said  District,  hath  deposited  in  this  office  the  title  of  a 
book  the  right  whereof  he  claims  as  author  in  the  words  following  to  wit : 

"Journal  of  the  'proceedings  of  a  Convention  of  Literary  and  Scientific 
gentlemen,  held  in  the  Common  Council  Chamber,  of  the  city  of  New  York, 
October  1830. 

In  conformity  to  the  Act  of  Congress  of  the  United  States,  entitled  "An 
Act  for  the  encouragement  of  Learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  Maps, 
Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies,  during  the 
time  therein  mentioned."  And  also  to  an  Act,  entitled  "  An  Act,  supplemen- 
tary to  an  Act,  entitled  an  Act  for  theencouragement  of  Learning,  by  securing 
the  copies  of  Maps,  Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  such 
copies  during  the  timestherein  mentioned,  and  extending  the  benefits  thereof 
to  the  arts  of  designing,  engraving,  and  etching  historical  and  other  prints." 

FRED.  J.  BETTS, 
Clerk  of  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


' 


PREFACE. 


In  the  month  of  September  last,  the  friends  of 
the  University  of  the  city  of  New  York,  believing 
it  to  be  desirable,  and  that  it  would  prove  highly 
gratifying  to  all  who  felt  an  interest  in  the  impor- 
tant subject  of  education — that  a  meeting  should 
be  convened,  of  literary  and  scientific  men  of 
our  country,  to  confer  on  the  general  interests  of 
letters  and  liberal  education,  and  to  interchange 
opinions  on  these  most  interesting  topics  : — they 
appointed  a  committee  with  powers,  to  invite  as 
far  as  practicable,  the  attendance  of  such  indivi- 
duals, on  behalf  of  the  University. 

The  committee  appointed,  was  composed  of  the 
Rev.  James  M.  Mathews,  the  Rev.  Jonathan  M. 
Wainwright,  the  Hon.  Albert  Gallatin,  and  John 
Delafield,  Esq. 

This  committee  issued  the  following  Circular, 
addressed  to  the  heads  of  colleges,  and  to  such 


88336 1 


gentlemen  as  it  was  supposed  could  without  much 
inconvenience,  attend  the  Convention  from  a  dis- 
tance. 

New  York,  25th  September,  1830. 
Sir, 

The  establishment  of  a  University  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  has  for  some  time  occupied  the 
attention  of  our  citizens,  and  an  amount  of  means 
is  now  pledged  to  the  object,  which  will  place  the 
Institution  at  its  commencement,  on  a  liberal 
foundation. 

In  contemplating  the  various  plans,  by  which 
the  University,  as  well  as  other  seminaries  of 
learning  in  our  country,  might  best  promote  their 
common  cause,  it  has  been  thought,  that  a  meeting 
of  literary  and  scientific  gentlemen,  to  confer  on 
the  general  interests  of  letters  and  liberal  educa- 
tion, would  be  attended  with  happy  results. 

Impressed  with  the  belief  that  our  literary  men, 
and  literary  institutions,  have  been  too  much  in- 
sulated, it  is  urged  that  more  frequent  intercourse 
and  comparison  of  views,  would  be  a  source  of 
high  gratification  to  all,  and  a  benefit  to  those  in- 
terested in  the  welfare  of  science  and  literature. 


With  this  view  the  undersigned  have  been  ap- 
pointed a  committee,  on  behalf  of  the  University 
in  this  city,  to  invite  such  a  meeting,  to  be  held 
in  New  York,  on  the  20th  of  October  next. 

We  are  happy  to  state  that  some  of  our  distin- 
guished scholars,  who  have  spent  several  years  in 
the  universities  of  Europe,  will  be  present  on  the 
occasion,  and  give  the  result  of  their  observations 
on  the  systems  of  education  now  pursued  at  home 
and  abroad. 

It  is  requested  that  you  will  favor  the  meeting 
with  your  presence,  and  with  such  views  as  you 
may  be  pleased  to  lay  before  it. 

We  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Respectfully,  yours, 

J.  M.  Mathews,        "\ 

J.  M.  Wainwright,  I 

„  >  Committee. 

Albert  Gallatin,     ( 

John  Delafied,         J 

The  Honorable  the  Corporation  of  the  city, 
granted  the  use  of  the  common  council  chamber 
for  holding  the  Convention:  generously  adding 
the  privilege  of  occupying  the  Rotunda  or  new 


8 

court  room,  if  either  would  better  suit  the  wishes 
of  the  committee. 

On  the  day  appointed,  about  one  hundred  mem- 
bers took  their  seats,  and  an  abstract  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Convention  are  given  in  the  fol- 
lowing Journal. 

The  addresses  read  on  the  occasion,  are  em- 
bodied in  the  Journal,  and  the  communications 
presented  are  given  as  an  appendix. 

J.  Delafield,  Secretary. 


JOURNAL. 


New  York,  Wednesday,  20th  October,  1830. 

A  meeting  of  literary  and  scientific  gentlemen, 
having  been  invited  by  a  committee  on  behalf  of 
the  University  of  the  city  of  New  York,  to  confer 
on  the  general  interests  of  letters  and  liberal  edu- 
cation— the    following    persons    appeared    from 
different  parts  of  the  United  States, — viz: 
President  Bates,  of  Middlebury  College,  Vt. 
President  Marsh,  of  the  University  of  Vt. 
President  Mason,  of  Geneva  College,  New  York. 
President  Cushing,  of  Prince  Edward  Col.  Va. 
Hon.  E.  Livingston,  New  Orleans. 
Hon.  Albert  Gallatin,  New  York. 
Hon.  C.  C.  Cambreleng,  Member  of  Congress. 
Hon.   S.   R.   Betts,   Judge  of  the  District  Court, 

of  the  United  States. 
Chancellor  Jones,  New  York. 

Professor    Adrain,    of   the    University    of   Penn. 
Professor  Dewey,  of  Pittsfield,  Massachusetts. 
Professor  Hodge,  of  Princeton,  New  Jersey. 


10 

Professor  Perdicari,  of  Washington  Col.,  Hart. 
Professor  Robinson,  of  Andover. 
Professor  Silliman,  of  Yale  College,  N.  H. 
Professor  Griscom,  of  New  York. 
Professor  Patton,  of  Princeton,  New  Jersey. 
Nath.  Chauncey,  Philadelphia. 
Henry  E.  Dwight,  New  Haven. 
Rev.  Thomas  H.  Gallaudet,  Hartford. 
Dr.  Lieber,  of  Boston. 
Jared  Sparks,  of  Boston. 
Rev.  W.  C.  Woodbridge,  Hartford. 
Rev.  Dr.  Yates,  of  Chitteningo. 
Professor  Keating,  Phildelphia. 
Don  S.  Gener,  of  Spain. 

Dr.  J.  E.  Dekay,      )      Delegates  from    the   New 
Abm.  Halsey,  )         York  Lyceum. 

Judge  Hall,  of  Ellington,  Connecticut. 
Dr.  I.  Leo  Wolf,  of  Hamburg. 
F.  Hasler,  of  New  York. 

Col.   Trumbull,  President  of  the  American  Aca- 
demy of  the  Fine  Arts. 
Rev.  Dr.  Emory,  of  New  York. 
Dr.  Stearns,  New  York. 
Col.  S.  L.  Knapp,  late  of  Boston. 
Hugh  Maxwell,  New  York. 
Rev.  Dr.  Phillips,  New  York. 


11 


Rev.  Mr.  Dubois,     New  York. 

Rev.  Dr.  De  Witt, 

Rev.  Mr.  Mortimer, 

Rev.  Mr.  Peters, 

Dr.  David  L.  Rogers, 

Rev.  Dr.  Knox, 

Mr.    Shaler,    late    Consul    of   the    United    States, 

Resident  at  Algiers. 

Lieut.  Drum,         ) 

,,.,.,      r    Delegates  from  West  Point. 
Lieut.  Mitchell,    )  °        J 

Hon.  G.  C.  Verplanck,  Member  of  Congress. 

Theo.  D.  Woolsey,  of  New  York, 

With  the  following  members  of  the  council  of  the 

University. 


Rev.  Jona.  M.  Wainwright, 
Rev.  James  M.  Mathews, 
Rev.  Spencer  H.  Cone, 
Rev.  James  Milnor, 
Rev.  Samuel  H.  Cox, 
Rev.  Jacob  Brodhead, 
Rev.  Cyrus  Mason, 
Rev.  Archibald  Maclay, 
Gen.  Morgan  Lewis, 
Hon.  Albert  Gallatin, 
Hon.  Samuel  R.  Betts, 
Hon.  James  Tallmadge, 


John  S.  Crary, 
Samuel  Ward,  junr., 
William  Cooper, 
Fanning  C.  Tucker, 
Oliver  M.  Lownds, 
Valentine  Mott,  M.  D. 
Edward  Delafield,  M.  D. 
William  W.  Woolsey, 
Charles  G.  Troup, 
Gabriel  P.  Disosway, 
Charles  Starr, 
John  Delafield, 


12 

Henry  I.  Wyckoff,  Walter  Bowne,  Mayor  of  the 

George  Griswold,  City  ex-officio,  together  with 

Myndert  Van  Schaick,  the  following  members  of 

Stephen  Whitney,  the  Common  Council : 

John  Haggerty,  William  Seaman, 

Martin  E.  Thompson,  William  W.  Mott, 

James  Lenox,  Benjamin  M.  Brown, 

Benjamin  L.  Swan,  Thomas  Jeremiah. 

President  Bates  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  the 
Hon.  Albert  Gallatin,  and  Walter  Bowne,  Mayor 
of  the  city,  were  appointed  Vice-Presidents. 

John  Delafield,  was  appointed  Secretary,  and 
the  Rev.  William  C.  Woodbridge,  Assistant 
Secretary. 

The  meeting  then  joined  in  an  appropriate 
prayer  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wainwright,  of  New 
York. 

The  Secretary  then  read  extracts  from  letters 
received  from  gentlemen  invited  to  the  meeting, 
who  could  not  with  convenience  attend  the  same, 
but  all  heartily  approving  of  the  objects  of  the 
meeting. — Letters  were  read  from 

Governor  Throop,  Auburn. 

Chancellor  Walworth,  Albany. 

Hon.  Ambrose  Spencer, 

Hermanus  Bleeker, 


13 

G.  C.  Bronson,  Albany. 
Judge  Story,  Boston. 
Hon.  E.  Everett, 
P.  S.  Duponceau,  Philadelphia. 
Judge  Sutherland,  Albany. 
Horace  Binney,  Philadelphia. 
President  Nott,  Schenectady. 
Judge  Thompson. 
Judge  Savage,  Albany. 
President  Carnahan,  Princeton. 
J.  P.  Cushman,  Troy. 
Judge  Daggett,  New  Haven, 
and  others. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  James  M.  Mathews,  addressed 
the  meeting  on  behalf  of  the  committee  of  the 
University,  setting  forth  more  particularly  the 
objects  in  view.     Dr.  Mathews  observed  that, 

"  It  had  been  highly  gratifying  to  learn  how  generally  the 
late  movements  in  this  city,  on  the  subject  of  Education 
and  Letters,  had  met  with  the  approbation  of  wise  and  good 
men  throughout  the  nation.  Much  as  our  country  owes  to 
her  excellent  Colleges,  the  sentiment  seems  to  be  general, 
that  the  time  has  arrived  when  she  calls  for  something  more; 
when  she  requires  Institutions  which  shall  give  increased  ma- 
turity to  her  Literature  and  also  an  enlarged  diffusion  to  the 
blessings  of  Education,  and  which  she  may  present  to  the 


14 


world  as  maintaining  an  honorable  competition  with  the  Uni- 
versities of  Europe.  By  general  consent,  too,  it  has  been  con- 
sidered that  it  is  both  the  duty  and  the  privilege  of  New- York , 
to  be,  at  least,  one  of  the  places  which  should  lead  the  way  in 
this  noble  work;  and  for  reasons  that  are  equally  obvious 
and  cogent. 

"  This  city  is  the  commercial  metropolis  of  the  land ;  and  we 
owe  it  to  the  nation  which  is  enriching  us  with  its  commerce, 
to  be  foremost  in  creating  and  sustaining  those  institutions 
which  are  indispensable  to  make  knowledge  and  science  keep 
pace  with  our  wealth.  We  owe  it  also  to  ourselves.  According 
to  the  Mythology  of  the  ancients,  it  was  the  same  Divinity 
who  presided  over  wisdom  and  the  liberal  arts,  who,  in  her 
zeal  for  commerce,  presented  to  the  Argonauts  the  prophetic 
tree  from  the  forest  of  Dodona,  which  should  guide  and  pro- 
tect them  in  their  pursuit  of  the  Golden  Fleece;  and  there 
is  a  wisdom  in  the  fable,  which  shows  that  the  sages  who 
invented  it,  well  understood  how  the  various  pursuits  of  men 
should  be  combined .  Commerce  should  ever  be  considered  as 
inseparably  allied  to  science  and  the  arts,  and  when  they 
have  been  divorced  from  each  other,  the  consequence  has 
always  been  disastrous  to  both; — commerce,  and  the  wealth 
that  follows  it,  rendering  a  community  selfish  and  contracted, 
while  science  languishes  for  the  want  of  that  support  and 
countenance  which  liberal  wealth  alone  can  bestow.  But 
when  this  alliance  is  sustained,  we  have  only  to  look  at  the 
commercial  cities  of  Italy,  to  see  the  happy  result.  It  was 
Venice  and  other  marts  on  the  shores  of  the  Adriatic, 


15 


that  first  rescued  the  arts  from  the  graves  in  which 
they  had  long  been  entombed  by  the  rude  Goth;  and  drew 
back  the  fabled  Minerva  to  resume  her  abode  in  a  land,  once 
her  favorite  home,  but  where  her  monuments  and  temples 
had  long  been  shattered  or  crumbled  into  dust. 

"It  may  be  added,  as  another  reason  for  commencing  this  en- 
terprise in  our  city,  that  the  legitimate  object  of  a  University, 
is  not  only  the  education  of  youth,  but  the  fuller  development 
of  the  minds  of  men;  and  for  this  object,  the  dense  and 
numerous  population  of  a  city,  creates  advantages  that  are 
incalculably  important.  Intellectual  communion  is  so  much 
desired  by  all  men,  and  especially  by  the  learned,  that  it  is 
only  when  the  distinguished  proficients  in  any  department 
of  knowledge  can  so  cluster  together  as  to  form  a  world  of 
their  own,  and  thus  stimulate  each  other  in  their  common 
pursuits,  that  conspicuous  excellence  can  be  most  successfully 
developed.  The  greatest  scholars  and  artists  who  now  adorn 
the  Halls  of  Science  in  London  and  Paris,  would  never  have 
grown  to  their  giant  stature,  had  they  been  scattered 
among  the  villages  or  hamlets  of  France  and  England.  Feel- 
ing themselves  alone  in  their  views,  the  sense  of  solitude 
of  itself  would,  in  some  degree,  have  palsied  their  efforts,  and 
have  induced  them  either  to  abandon  their  aim,  or  relax  in 
their  high  pursuits.  But  in  the  variety  of  intellectual  worlds 
which  a  populous  city  furnishes  the  means  of  creating, 
they  have  found,  that  'as  iron  sharpeneth  iron,  so  doth  the 
countenance  of  a  man  his  friend.'  It  is  in  this  contact  of 
mind  with  mind,  that  these  men  of  renown  have  become 
their  country's  ornaments,  and  blessings  to  the  world. 


16 


"  Besides  these  advantages  and  responsibilities  common  to 
all  great  commercial  cities,  there  are  other  circumstances  be- 
longing to  the  state  of  letters  in  New  York,  that  strongly 
invited  us  to  the  establishment  of  a  University  in  this  city 
without  delay.  To  quote  a  fact  from  a  valuable  communica- 
tion hereafter  to  be  laid  before  this  assembly, — 'A  very  few 
years  ago,  the  government  of  Bavaria  opened  a  University 
in  Munich,  a  city  not  much  more  than  one  third  as  large  as 
New  York;  but  as  former  ages  had  already  collected  there, 
hospitals,  a  very  valuable  museum,  a  magnificent  library  and 
other  fixtures,  the  establishment,  within  a  year  after  its  for- 
mation went  into  successful  operation.  So,  too,  at  Berlin,  a 
city  by  far  the  largest  in  Northern  Germany,  yet  infe- 
rior to  New  York  in  wealth,  business  and  population;  a 
royal  library,  hospitals,  a  most  admirable  cabinet  of  natural 
history,  were  at  once  given  to  lend  a  lustre  to  the  rising 
University,  and  its  growth  into  celebrity  was  sure  and  rapid. 
But  it  took  nearly  a  century  to  bring  Gottingen  to  its  present 
high  distinction,' — inasmuch  as  the  materiel  of  knowledge 
was  not  furnished  to  its  hand. 

"It  is  in  the  power  of  a  University  in  this  city,  to  avail  itself 
of  the  advantages  which  have  operated  so  propitiously  at  Mu- 
nich and  Berlin.  There  are  here  various  literary  associa- 
tions that  have  either  languished  or  failed  to  reach  the  dis- 
tinction they  both  deserved  and  desired,  for  the  want  of  close 
alliance  and  mutual  support.  "Union  is  strength" — 
and  on  the  broad  foundation,  now  laid,  these  various  insti- 
tutions have  already  become  so  far  united,  as  to  acquire 


17 


strength  themselves;  while  at  the  same  time,  they  furnish  a 
great  amount  of  means  to  the  University  which  unites  them, 
by  which  it  can  enlarge  and  hasten  its  usefulness  to  the  com- 
munity. The  Lyceum  of  Natural  History,  with  a  prompt- 
ness and  unanimity  which  have  always  characterized  its 
proceedings,  led  the  way  in  this  important  movement;  and 
has  thus  furnished  a  liberal  endowment  for  improvement  in 
that  interesting  department  of  knowledge.  The  Historical 
Society  next  followed,  and  has  thus  brought  to  the  Universi- 
ty a  Library,  which  is  invaluable  to  the  Civil  Historian.  The 
Directors  of  the  New  York  Athenaeum  have  also  unani- 
mously resolved  to  accept  of  the  proffer  made  to  them  by 
the  University;  and  wait  only  for  a  vote  of  the  Patrons,  as 
to  the  amount  of  their  capital  which  should  be  invested  in 
books  to  enlarge  their  present  collection,  in  order  to  con- 
clude the  contemplated  union.  It  is  believed  too,  that  other 
societies,  actuated  by  an  enlightened  regard  to  their  own 
usefulness,  and  the  public  good,  will  follow  these  conspicuous 
examples;  and  thus  may  these  various  Institutions,  which 
however  excellent  in  themselves,  have  lain  hitherto  like  scat- 
tered or  disunited  columns,  be  erected  into  a  Temple  of 
Science,  equally  perfect  and  magnificent  as  a  whole,  and 
harmonious  in  the  adaptation  of  its  parts. 

"Let  it  not  be  imagined,  however,  that  these  hopes,  san- 
guine as  they  may  appear,  are  wild  and  visionary.  We 
indeed  have  acted,  and  we  intend  to  act  on  the  maxim,  that 
'  if  we  expect  great  things,  we  must  attempt  great  things; 

and  thus  far,  our  attempts  have  been  crowned  with  success, 

3 


18 


and  our  expectations  have  been  realized.  'Rome  was  not 
built  in  a  day;'  and  we  have  not  been  so  unwise,  and  so 
little  acquainted  with  the  nature  of  our  work,  as  to  expect  to 
create  a  University,  complete  throughout  all  its  parts,  in  one 
or  two  years.  We  feel  that  we  have  yet  much  to  do;  much 
to  do  in  adding  increased  means  to  the  Institution;  and  also 
much  to  do  in  devising  and  maturing  a  system  of  govern- 
ment and  instruction,  adapted  to  the  state  and  wants  of  our 
country.  It  is  on  these  topics  that  we  are  desirous  of  having 
the  views  of  such  gentlemen  as  are  here  present;  and  we 
have  been  induced  to  invite  this  meeting,  believing  that  we 
should  both  enjoy  and  bestow  a  benefit,  by  the  measure. 
Whatever  knowledge  any  of  us  can  throw  into  the  common 
stock,  must  be  for  the  advantage  not  of  one  Institution,  but 
of  all  with  which  any  of  us  may  be  particularly  connected. 

"In  this  age  of  the  world,  distinguished  by  what  some 
men,  in  ridicule,  and  others  in  seriousness,  term  the  'march 
of  mind,'  it  cannot  be  disguised  that  the  interests  of  litera- 
ture are  somewhat  jeopardized  by  the  very  efforts  made  to 
improve  them.  Tyranny  of  every  kind  is  now  beginning 
to  tremble  and  to  fall,  whether  it  be  the  tyranny  of  thrones 
and  of  ignorance,  or  the  tyranny  of  schools  and  of  long 
established  usage.  But  there  is  great  danger,  lest  this  spirit 
of  reform  may  sweep  away  many  of  the  old  and  venerable 
landmarks  which  ought  to  be  preserved.  In  our  review  of 
what  literature  has  been,  we  should  rather  inquire,  not  what 
can  be  relinquished,  but  what  can  be  usefully  retained;  and 
while  we  bring  every  thing  to  the  test  of  practical  utility, 


19 


whether  old  or  new,  let  us  not  forget  that  it  is  the  most  pre- 
cious seed  that  is  sometimes  longest  in  producing  its  invalua- 
ble fruits .  On  every  subject ,  however,  that  may  come  before 
us,  it  is  the  general  wish,  that  all  opinions  should  be  freely 
expressed .  If  they  collide,  so  be  it .  The  collision  is  nothing 
more  than  that  of  minds  honestly  aiming  at  the  same  great 
end.  Let  every  sentiment  be  advanced  with  the  purpose 
'valeat  quantum  valere  potest.'  It  is  only  by  'proving  all 
things,'  that  we  can  'hold  fast  that  which  is  good;'  and 
should  we  pursue  the  object  of  this  meeting,  with  this  frank 
and  fearless  spirit,  the  result  cannot  fail  to  be  happy. 

"Let  me  congratulate  all  who  are  now  before  me,  that,, 
on  so  short  a  notice,  our  assembly  is  so  respectably  and 
numerously  attended.  We  may  view  it  as  an  earnest  of  His 
favour  'from  whom  all  holy  desires,  all  good  counsels,  and 
all  just  works  do  proceed;'  and  before  whom  we  have  united 
in  presenting  our  prayers  for  his  presence  and  direction  in 
our  deliberations.  From  the  first,  it  was  contemplated  that 
this  meeting  should  be  introductory  to  others  which  should 
draw  together  in  still  greater  numbers  our  leading  men  in 
the  republic  of  letters;  and  judging  from  the  auspicious  ap- 
pearance of  this  day,  why  may  not  science  hereafter  ex- 
pect to  have  in  our  land  her  council  of  Amphictyons,  whose 
decisions  shall  become  as  venerated  and  as  useful,  as  were 
those  of  the  venerable  sages,  to  whom  Greece,  in  her  best 
days,  rendered  an  homage  that  was  alike  the  glory  of  those 
who  gave  and  of  those  who  received  it." 


20 

The  Mayor  of  the  city  being  detained  by  offi- 
cial duties,  from  his  seat  as  Vice  President,  on 
motion  of  Dr.  S.  H.  Cox,  of  New  York,  the 
Hon.  Samuel  R.  Betts,  of  New  York,  was  appoin- 
ed  Vice  President  pro  tern. 

The  Secretary,  Mr.  John  Delafield,  then  read 
the  following  topics  as  proposed  by  the  Committee 
of  invitation, 

FOR  DISCUSSION,  OR  INQUIRY. 


No.  1.  As  to  the  Universities  of  Europe;  and 
how  far  the  systems  pursued  in  them  may  be 
desirable  for  similar  institutions  in  this  country. 

No.  2.  The  organization  of  colleges  and  of 
universities  in  this  country — exhibiting  defects  to 
be  remedied,  and  improvements  to  be  made. 

No.  3.  Police — with  the  best  system  of  disci- 
pline, the  distribution  of  rewards,  or  honours,  and 
whether  the  exercise  of  such  discipline  should  be 
confined  to  a  faculty,  or  shared,  and  to  what  extent, 
with  the  students. 


21 

No.  4.  The  advantages  of  a  large  city  as  the 
seat  of  a  university,  and  the  demand  at  this  time, 
by  the  community,  for  such  an  institution. 

No.  5.  The  importance  of  extensive  libraries 
for  intellectual  improvement. 

No.  6.  Instruction  by  public  lectures — the  ad- 
vantages and  disadvantages  of  open  lectures  and 
recitations  from  a  text  book — how  they  may  be 
combined  so  as  to  excite  the  teacher  to  keep  pace 
with  the  knowledge  of  the  age,  and  make  the  pupil 
not  only  a  hearer,  but  also  a  diligent  learner. 

No.  7.  The  necessity  for  improved,  and  more 
extensive  means,  for  educating  classical  teachers. 

The  President  stated  that  other  topics  would 
gladly  be  received  from  members  of  the  meet- 
ing— which  would  be  entered  by  the  Secretary 
for  discussion. 

Dr.  Wainwright,  of  New  York,  presented  a 
communication  from  Professor  Vethake,  of  Prince- 
ton, New  Jersey,  in  which  he  considered  the 
existing  method  of  collegiate  education  in  the 
United  States. 


22 

By  request,  Dr.  Wainwright  read  the  paper 
presented,  as  follows: 

"The  students  of  our  colleges,  it  is  well  known,  are  almost 
universally  divided  into  four  different  classes,  viz:  the 
Freshman,  Sophomore,  Junior,  and  Senior  Classes.  The 
course  of  study  in  each  of  them  endures  for  a  year,  and  is  the 
same  for  every  student,  whatever  may  be  his  capacity  or 
tastes.  A  candidate  for  admission  to  the  Freshman  or  lowest 
class,  besides  possessing  a  competent  knowledge  of  the  various 
branches  of  what  is  usually  styled  an  English  education, 
such  as  English  Grammar,  Geography,  &c.  must  come  pre- 
pared to  be  examined  on  a  certain  number,  or  on  portions  of 
a  certain  number  of  the  classical  (Greek  and  Latin)  authors; 
and  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages  are  also  usually  the 
principal  subjects  of  study  during  the  first  two  years  of  the 
collegiate  course,  the  sciences  only  becoming  predominant 
objects  of  the  students'  attention  in  the  Junior  and  Senior 
years.  The  instruction  in  the  different  sciences,  Mathema- 
tical, Physical,  and  Moral,  is,  generally  speaking,  conducted 
almost  entirely  by  recitation  from  a  text  book,  with  remarks, 
less  or  more  extended,  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  At  certain 
stated  periods  distinctions  or  honours  are  awarded  to  a 
certain  number  of  the  students  who  excel  in  scholarship; 
and,  at  the  close  of  his  college  career,  every  individual  receives 
the  first  degree  in  the  Arts.  These  are  all  the  different  cir- 
cumstances which  involve  the  points  that  will  present  them- 
selves for  my  animadversion. 


23 


"  It  is  clear  that  our  colleges  are  not  institutions  which  are 
engaged  in  diffusing  the  blessings  of  knowledge  among  the 
community  as  generally  as  they  have  it  in  their  power  to  do. 
They  do  not  say  to  parents,  send  your  children  within  our 
walls  to  make  such  acquirements  in  science,  or  letters,  as  their 
previous  education  may  fit  them  to  make.  A  young  man 
desirous  of  obtaining  a  knowledge  of  Mathematics,  Natural 
or  Moral  Philosophy,  Chemistry,  Natural  History,  or  Politi- 
cal Economy,  and  who  may  possess  all  the  preparatory  infor- 
mation requisite  for  attending  with  advantage  the  course  of 
instruction  in  any  of  those  branches  of  knowledge,  will  yet 
find  himself  debarred  from  admission  to  college,  if  he  have 
not  provided  himself  with  a  certain  stock  of  Latin  and  Greek. 
Our  colleges  do  in  fact  say  to  such  an  individual,  whatever 
your  aspirations  after  knowledge  may  be,  to  you  we  are  not 
the  dispensers  of  it.  It  is  true  that  we  have  it  in  our  power 
to  make  you  more  useful  members  of  society,  and  to  exalt 
you  in  the  scale  of  being;  but,  nevertheless,  we  condemn 
you,  as  far  as  lies  with  us,  to  comparative  ignorance  and  a 
lower  sphere  of  usefulness;  and  we  reserve  our  instructions 
for  those  only  who  have  the  wealth  necessary  to  enable  them 
to  consume  many  years  of  their  lives  in  the  exclusive,  or 
nearly  the  exclusive,  occupation  of  learning  two  complicated 
and  difficult  languages,  very  imperfectly,  in  most  cases,  after 
all.  That  the  learned  or  dead  languages  should,  some  two 
or  three  centuries  ago,  have  been  made  the  study  of  every 
one  having  in  view  scientific  information  as  his  ultimate  end, 
as  well  as  by  those  whose  lives  were  to  be  devoted  to  literary 
or  philological  pursuits,  was  natural  enough;  since  at  that 


24 


period  almost  all  useful  knowledge  was  contained  in  books 
written  in  those  languages,  which  for  that  reason  then  hardly 
deserved  the  epithet  of  dead.  But  that,  at  the  present  day, 
when  men  of  science,  with  very  few  exceptions,  and  those 
chiefly  among  the  Germans  and  the  other  northern  nations 
of  Europe,  make  use,  in  recording  their  speculations,  of  their 
vernacular  tongues, — when  every  thing  which  antiquity  has 
left  us  worth  the  perusal,  for  the  sake  of  acquiring  informa- 
tion ,  hasbeen  translated  in  to  the  modern  dialects,  the  English 
among  the  number, — when  the  progress  of  knowledge,  more 
especially  of  mathematical  and  physical  science,  has  been 
such  as  to  render  the  older  authors  of  no  value,  except  in  so 
far  as  the  gratification  of  the  curiosity  of  those  who  are  in- 
terested in  tracing  the  gradual  advances  made  by  the  human 
mind  gives  them  one, — and  when,  more  particularly  in  the 
United  States,  the  number  of  individuals  desirous  of  gaining 
useful  information,  vastly  exceeds  that  of  those  who  have  the 
time  and  money  to  enable  them  to  go  through  the  whole 
course  of  education  prescribed  by  our  colleges, — it  does  seem 
to  me  that  the  very  general  persistanceof  those  institutions, 
in  the  restricted  system  above  mentioned,  is  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  instances  with  which  I  am  acquainted,  of  a  per- 
sistance  in  error,  merely  because  it  has  been  long  established. 

"The  only  plausible  arguments,  if  they  deserve  that  name, 
that  I  have  seen  adduced  against  the  introduction  of  the 
open  or  proposed  University  system,  which  asks  of  the  candi- 
date for  admission,  no  other  qualifications  (besides  of  course 
a  fair  moral  character)  but  that  he  be  qualified  by  his  age 


25 


and  previous  education  to  attend  with  advantage  to  himself, 
the  course  or  courses  of  instruction  on  the  subjects  he  is  desi- 
rous of  becoming  acquainted  with,  are,  in  the  first  place, 
that  this  system  would  act  as  a  discouragement  to  the 
acquisition  of  classical  literature, — secondly,  that  the  several 
courses  of  instruction  would  necessarily  degenerate  into 
mere  popular  courses;  by  popular  instruction  being  here 
understood,  an  instruction  divested  of  precision,  and,  there- 
fore, communicating  only  a  superficial  acquaintance  with  the 
topics  treated  of, — and  lastly,  that  the  object  of  education  is 
not  so  much  to  make  good  scholars  in  any  particular  branch 
of  literature  or  science,  as  to  present  to  the  student  an  outline 
of  the  whole  range  of  human  knowledge,  and  to  subject  his 
mind  to  that  preparatory  discipline  which  may  afterwards  fit 
him  for  its  vigorous  and  useful  exercise  in  his  future  pursuits 
in  life.  I  shall  say  a  word  or  two  on  each  of  these  heads  of 
objection. 

"1.  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  are  opposed  to  the  study  of 
Classical  Literature.  On  the  contrary,  I  am  disposed  to  as- 
sent to  most  of  what  has  been  advanced  in  its  favor,  by  its 
most  zealous  advocates.  It  seems  to  me,  that  it  would  be 
extremely  difficult  to  find  a  better  means  of  disciplining  all 
the  various  mental  powers  of  youth  than  by  directing  their 
minds,  at  the  period  in  which  they  are  usually  made  to  apply 
themselves  to  the  study  of  classical  literature,  to  the  acquisi- 
tion of  some  one  or  two  languages,  differing  in  construction 
and  idiom  from  their  own.    And  next  to  a  familiarity  with 

the  best  writers  in  English  literature,  I  am  persuaded  that 

4 


26 


there  is  not  a  more  efficient  method  of  acquiring  a  free  and 
accurate  use  of  our  own  language  than  by  the  practice  of  com- 
paring its  idioms  with  those  of  another  language,  and  by 
frequently  translating  from  the  one  into  the  other.  For  this 
purpose,  Greek  and  Latin  are,  no  doubt,  quite  as  well  adapted 
as  any  of  the  modern  dialects,  and  perhaps  better,  on  account 
of  the  greater  complexity  of  their  construction,  and  the 
greater  inversion  of  the  order  of  words  in  a  sentence  of  which 
they  admit.  Among  their  advantages,  too,  the  very  great 
facility,  which  a  previous  acquaintance  with  them  communi- 
cates to  the  learner  in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  most 
useful  of  the  modern  languages,  ought  not  to  be  forgotten. 
But  besides  all  this  I  will  very  readily  grant,  that  for  enjoying 
some  of  the  noblest  and  most  delightful  gratifications  which 
can  be  administered  to  the  mind  through  the  inlet  of  the 
imagination,  there  is  no  purer  and  better  source  than  the 
historians,  orators,  and  above  all,  the  poets  of  antiquity.  It  is 
plain,  however,  that  the  enjoyment  of  such  advantages  as 
these,  imply  nothing  short  of  a  thorough  acquaintance  with 
the  ancient  languages.  Only  to  one  possessed  of  such  an 
acquaintance  with  them  can  the  perusal  of  Homer  or  of 
Virgil,  of  Demosthenes  or  Cicero,  in  their  originals  yield  as 
correct  an  idea  of  their  merits,  or  even  of  their  meaning,  as 
the  translations  of  them  accessible  to  the  mere  English 
scholar.  For  the  reasons  which  have  been  stated,  chiefly, 
I  would  inculcate  on  every  young  man,  with  whom  I  had 
any  influence,  as  essential  to  a  liberal  education,  and  of 
course  in  the  highest  degree  desirable  as  a  preparation  for  any 
of  the  learned  professions,  not  a  superficial,  but  an  accurate 


27 


acquaintance  with  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages,  one, 
indeed,  much  more  accurate  than  is  to  be  had  in  many  of 
our  colleges.  But  while  I  thus  fully  acknowledge  the  value 
of  classical  literature,  I  see  no  reason  why  an  artificial  pre- 
ference should  be  given  to  it  in  our  systems  of  education,  and 
why  young  men  should  be  told,  that  unless  they  learn  Latin 
and  Greek,  they  shall  not  be  permitted  to  learn  any  thing  else. 
Whilst  I  would  have  ample  provision  made  in  our  colleges 
for  instruction,  and  able  instruction,  in  these  languages,  as 
well  as  in  every  branch  of  literature  and  science,  I  would 
leave  the  supply  of  instruction  in  all  to  be  regulated  by  the 
proportional  demand  of  the  public  for  each. 

"  It  may  now  be  asked,  will  not  the  number  of  young  men 
who,  if  the  system  recommended  be  generally  adopted,  will 
pursue  the  study  of  the  ancient  languages,  be  less  than  at 
present;  and  will  not  this  be  acknowledged  to  be  an  evil  by 
all  those  who  hold  the  same  opinions  with  myself  in  relation 
to  their  utility?  The  answer,  however,  to  the  objection  here 
implied,  is  obvious,  even  on  the  supposition  of  the  questions 
put  being  answered  in  the  affirmative.  First,  the  evil  will  be 
compensated  by  the  greater  advantage  to  the  community  of 
having  a  much  larger  number  of  individuals  instructed  in 
the  various  other  branches  of  knowledge;  and,  secondly,  it 
may  be  remarked,  that  those  who  will  give  up  their  classical 
education  will  be  chiefly  such  as  under  the  existing  arrange- 
ments pursue  it  sluggishly,  without  having  any  taste  for  what 
they  undertake  and  pretend  to  learn,  who  have  mainly  in 
view  in  a  college  residence  the  eventual  obtaining  of  the 


28 


mystic  sheepskin,  which  shall  evidence  to  the  world  that  they 
have  received  a  liberal  education,  and  who  never  attain  to 
such  a  knowledge  of  either  Greek  or  Latin  as  to  enable 
them,  after  they  have,  in  the  customary  phrase,  completed 
their  education,  to  peruse  a  single  page  of  any  one  author  in 
those  languages  with  pleasure  or  profit.  But  that  because 
young  men,  or  their  parents  for  them,  under  the  proposed 
system,  are  to  be  at  liberty  to  select  their  subjects  of  study,  the 
number  of  those  who  would  pursue  the  study  of  the  ancient 
classics  would  be  diminished,  might  possibly  be  true  in  the 
first  instance,  although  even  then  I  think  that  effect  would  be 
produced  to  an  extent  much  less  than  is  supposed  by  many ; 
for  it  ought  to  be  kept  in  view  that  a  decided  majority  of  those 
who  now  learn  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages  are  either 
intended  for  the  learned  professions,  or  are  the  sons  of  parents 
who  have  the  means  of  giving  their  children  a  liberal  educa- 
tion. Besides,  we  may  rest  assured  that,  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  those  who  apply  themselves  to  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge  of  any  kind,  there  will  be  diffused  through  the 
community  a  taste  and  a  desire  for  all  sorts  of  knowledge. 

"  2.  That  the  courses  of  instruction  would  become  superficial 
if  opened,  as  is  proposed,  to  all  who  are  sufficiently  prepared, 
by  their  age  and  previous  education,  to  attend  them  with 
advantage,  is  an  assumption  which  seems  to  me,  to  be  quite 
gratuitous.  In  the  present  state  of  things,  as  every  one  knows, 
a  few  of  our  colleges,  in  order  to  attract  such  students  as  are 
more  anxious  to  get  a  degree,  than  an  education,  degrade  their 
instruction  below  what  is  furnished  by  many  of  our  gym- 


29 

nasiums,  or  academies  of  reputation,  which,  having  no  fo- 
reign or  adventitious  support  from  the  power  of  operating  on 
the  imaginations  of  the  public,  and  more  particularly  of  the 
younger  portion  of  it,  by  the  magic  of  degrees  and  diplomas, 
are  dependent  for  patronage  on  merit  alone.  So,  no  doubt, 
would  this  continue  to  be  the  case  under  the  system  of  which 
I  am  an  advocate.  Some  institutions  would  still  think  it  for 
their  interest  to  teach  more  superficially  than  others,  or  would 
not  have  it  in  their  power  to  furnish  as  extensive  and  thorough 
an  education  as  others;  but  I  do  not  hesitate  to  assert,  for 
reasons  to  be  presently  stated,  that  the  fact  would  be  found 
to  be,  that  the  changes  proposed  would  have  a  tendency  to 
elevate  rather  than  to  lower  the  scale  of  education.  This  is, 
indeed,  implied  in  the  next  objection  to  be  considered,  and 
which  is  in  direct  contradiction  with  the  one  of  which  we 
have  been  speaking. 

"  3.  The  remark,  so  often  made,  that  the  object  of  that 
education  which  is  communicated  by  one  mind  to  another,  is 
not  intended  to  make  men  masters  of  any  one  science,  but 
rather,  in  addition  to  the  expanding  and  invigorating  of  their 
faculties,  to  give  them  an  encyclopedic  outline  of  human 
knowledge,  to  be  afterwards  filled  up,  by  their  own  unassist- 
ed efforts,  in  such  parts  as  they  may  then  select  for  their  par- 
ticular provinces  of  intellectual  labor,  is  one  which  I  am  not 
disposed  to  controvert ;  but  I  cannot  but  think  its  application 
to  the  case  under  consideration  to  be  somewhat  strained,  and 
out  of  place.  I  presume  it  can  hardly  be  intended  by  the 
friends  of  the  new  University  scheme,  to  undertake  to  produce 


30 


annually  a  number  of  finished  scholars,  and  accomplished 
men  of  science.  They  will  still  leave  the  eminences  of 
knowledge  to  be  slowly  attained  by  the  strenuous  and  per- 
severing efforts  of  the  student,  long  after  he  shall  have  quitted 
the  walls  of  the  University.  The  several  courses  of  instruc- 
tion will  certainly  not  be  of  a  nature  to  require  the  whole  time 
and  attention  of  those  who  attend  them;  the  students,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few,  of  inferior  capacities,  or  of  inefficient 
habits  of  intellectual  exertion,  will  have  ample  leisure  to 
engage  in  the  study  of  more  branches  of  knowledge  than 
one.  The  numerous  relations,  too,  which  apparently  the 
remotest  of  the  sciences  bear  to  each  other,  and  the  frequent 
points  of  contact  which  many  of  them  present,  have  a  con- 
stant tendency  to  withdraw  the  mind  from  a  limited  field  of 
study,  and  to  induce  it  to  waste  its  energies  in  ranging  fruit- 
lessly over  too  wide  a  surface.  Hence  there  is  no  room  for 
apprehending  that  young  men  at  college  will  confine  them- 
selves, from  inclination,  to  the  acquiring  of  a  single  science 
alone.  I  see  no  objection,  however,  to  render  it  obligatory 
on  them  to  attend  at  the  same  period  of  time,  a  certain  num- 
ber of  courses,  unless  specially  exempted  for  sufficient  reasons, 
as  is  now  the  arrangement  in  the  University  of  Virginia. 
Such  a  regulation  would,  indeed,  be  highly  expedient  in 
reference  to  the  discipline  of  an  institution,  by  securing,  as 
much  as  possible,  a  full  employment  of  his  time  for  every 
student.  But  independent  of  any  measure  of  the  kind,  there 
will  be  no  difficulty  in  acquiring  an  outline  of  human  know- 
ledge. Besides  the  effect  naturally  resulting  from  the  discur- 
sive disposition  of  the  mind  above  mentioned,  the  tendency 


31 


of  the  present  age,  more  especially  in  our  own  country,  for 
reasons  which  it  is  unnecessary  to  adduce,  since  the  fact  will 
hardly  be  questioned,  is  to  produce  a  state  of  things  in  which 
the  most  educated  men  are,  in  general,  acquainted,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  with  all  things  under  the  sun,  rather  than  with 
any  one  branch  of  knowledge  thoroughly,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
be  of  much  practical  service  to  their  fellow  men,  or  to  con- 
tribute in  any  striking  degree,  to  the  progress  of  invention  or 
discovery.  And  it  would  be  well,  perhaps,  for  the  interests  of 
education,  if  our  literary  institutions  were  to  administer  some 
check  to  this  prevalent  evil,  instead  of  encouraging  it  by 
teaching,  as  some  of  them  do,  a  mere  smattering  of  many 
things. 

"  Before  proceeding  farther,  I  ought  to  mention  that  I  am 
aware  that  several  of  our  colleges  admit  young  men,  who  are 
desirous  of  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  a  limited  number  of 
subjects,  to  attend  to  those,  exclusive  of  others,  which  they 
are  disinclined,  or  unable,  to  learn,  through  want  of  the 
requisite  preparatory  knowledge,  or  any  other  cause.  This 
deviation,  however,  from  the  vigorous  system  commonly 
practised,  can  hardly  be  regarded  as  an  exception  of  much 
importance.  Where  the  young  men  have  not  the  privilege 
of  attending,  during  the  same  period,  to  the  studies  of  more 
than  one  of  the  regularly  organized  classes  of  the  college, 
and  I  believe  they  rarely  have  that  privilege  in  the  institu- 
tions to  which  I  allude,  they  are  necessarily  obliged  to  con- 
tent themselves  with  only  a  portion  of  the  studies  of  some 
particular  class,  and  are  consequently  not  provided,  generally 


32 

speaking,  with  adequate  employment  for  their  time.  Nor 
have  they  it  at  all  times  in  their  power  to  attend  to  such 
subjects  of  study  as  they  would  wish.  If,  for  example,  one 
of  these  students  were  desirous  of  learning  geometry  and 
chemistry,  he  would  be  prevented  from  doing  both  at  once, 
if  the  arrangement  of  the  courses  be  such  as  is  usual:  he 
must  be  a  member  of  the  institution  during  two  successive 
years  in  order  to  effect  his  object,  and  do  what  could 
well  be  done  under  the  proper  university  system  in  a  year, 
or  a  part  of  a  year.  When  to  these  circumstances  we 
add,  that  he  is  excluded  from  receiving  a  degree,  and  is,  on 
that  account,  regarded  by  his  fellow-students  as  an  intruder 
among  them,  holding  a  less  honourable  rank  than  themselves, 
it  ought  to  surprise  no  one  that  so  few  young  men  embrace 
the  opportunities  for  acquiring  knowledge  thus  afforded  them. 

"  Were  I  to  stop  here,  I  think  enough  will  have  been  said 
to  convince  the  unprejudiced  mind,  that  by  the  abolition  of 
the  present  system  of  regularly  organized  classes,  the  mem- 
bers of  which,  are  all  compelled  to  pursue  the  same  course  of 
study,  and  by  ceasing  to  require  the  previous  acquisition  of  a 
certain  amount  of  Latin  and  Greek,  as  an  indispensable  con- 
dition for  being  admitted  to  the  opportunity  of  acquiring 
knowledge  of  a  different  description,  our  colleges  would  be 
much  more  numerously  attended,  and  their  usefulness  be 
proportionably  enlarged.  The  proposed  alterations  would, 
however,  lead  to  other  beneficial  results.  Instead  of  a  num- 
ber of  individuals  assembled  together  in  the  same  classes 
with  the  most  discordant  views  and  tastes,  many  of  them, 


33 


indeed,  anxious  to  exercise  their  minds,  and  to  acquire  infor- 
mation, yet  many  also  feeling  very  little  stimulus  to  mental 
exertion,  and  having  for  their  main  object  more  the  getting 
of  a  degree  than  of  an  education, — we  should  have,  in  every 
branch  of  instruction,  classes  of  young  men  all  pursuing 
their  studies  con  amore.  They  would  all  of  them  come  to 
the  University  or  College  to  learn  what  they  have  a  peculiar 
predilection  for  acquiring,  or  what  they  themselves,  or  those 
in  whom  they  most  confided,  were  convinced  would  be  of 
especial  advantage  to  them  in  reference  to  their  future  desti- 
nations in  life.  Such  young  men  would  voluntarily  prosecute 
their  studies  with  a  diligence  to  render  coercion  by  means  of 
college  discipline  almost  wholly  unnecessary;  and  on  that 
account,  their  instructers  would  teach  with  more  spirit,  and 
could  then  display  an  enthusiasm  in  behalf  of  the  science  or 
branch  of  literature  to  which  they  had  devoted  themselves, 
and  in  which  they  had  attained  to  reputation,  without  subject- 
ing themselves,  as  would  too  often  be  the  case  at  present,  in 
consequence  of  the  difficulty  or  impossibility  of  carrying  along 
with  them  the  feelings  of  their  pupils,  to  the  imputation  of 
pedantry,  and  to  the  ridicule  attached  to  it.  The  reflection 
again  of  that  enthusiasm  from  the  instructers  upon  their 
hearers  must  produce  results  altogether  unknown  under  our 
existing  arrangements.  This  I  take  to  be  the  principal  secret 
of  the  exertions  made,  and  exploits  achieved,  by  so  many  in 
the  universities  of  Europe,  under  circumstances,  too,  in  many 
other  respects  not  by  any  means  so  propitious  to  close  study, 
as  are  to  be  found  among  ourselves.    On  the  plan  proposed, 

we  would  likewise  have  a  very  simple  expedient  for  remedying 

5 


34 


the  injurious  effects  now  resulting  from  the  assignment 
of  the  same  tasks  to  a  number  of  young  men  associated 
together  in  the  same  class,  without  regard  to  the  inequality 
of  their  capacities.  Instead  of  doing  injustice  to  one  portion 
of  them  by  requiring  what  they  are  unable  to  perform,  and 
to  another  by  not  giving  them  sufficient  employment  for  their 
time,  the  comparatively  small  number  who  out  of  a  class,  so 
to  speak,  of  volunteers,  would  find  it  impossible  to  keep  pace 
with  the  progress  of  the  rest,  might  be  excused  from  at- 
tending as  many  courses,  during  the  same  period,  as  their 
more  fortunate  companions.  Another  great  advantage,  which 
would  be  the  consequence  of  breaking  up  the  regular  organi- 
zation of  the  classes,  has  relation  to  the  discipline  of  our 
colleges.  No  one  thing,  I  am  persuaded,  is  a  greater  obstacle 
to  the  preservation  of  order  in  them,  and  to  the  efficient  exer- 
cise of  authority  on  the  part  of  their  administrators,  than  that 
esprit  du  corps  which  is  no  where  so  strong  as  among  young 
men  at  college  thus  organized.  This  feeling  is  of  so  excita- 
ble a  nature,  that  discipline  is  rarely  inflicted,  however  justly, 
without  exciting  in  the  breasts  of  his  classmates  a  high  degree 
of  sympathy  for  the  offender :  and  the  dismission  of  a  student 
is  sometimes  the  signal  with  them  of  a  common  and  open 
resistance  to  the  college  authorities.  Now,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  must  be  evident,  that  a  system  which,  during  the  same  day 
brings  the  student  before  his  instructers  in  the  society  of 
different  sets  of  companions,  and  which  does  not  retain  any 
one  set  of  young  men  continually  and  exclusively  associated 
together  for  years,  must  have  a  direct  tendency  to  remove  the 
cause  of  the  evils  described.    To  mention  one  advantage 


35 

more  which  the  discipline  of  our  colleges  would  derive  from 
the  adoption  of  the  system  recommended:  by  introducing 
into  them  a  much  larger  number  of  the  sons  of  persons  in 
moderate  circumstances, — of  our  farmers  and  mechanics, — 
of  such  persons  as  bring  up  their  children  with  modest  and 
unassuming  manners  and  industrious  habits,  and  who  do  not 
spoil  them  by  allowing  them  to  have  too  much  money,  the 
whole  mass  of  the  students  would  be  likely  to  profit  by  their 
example,  and  the  general  tone  of  our  colleges  in  respect  of 
morality  be  improved. 

"  I  am  disposed  to  suggest  the  expediency  of  doing  away 
with  the  customary  distinctions  and  honors  conferred  on 
those  who  excel  as  scholars  in  their  respective  classes.  They 
are  seldom,  if  ever,  conferred  in  a  manner  to  give  general 
satisfaction,  and  they  sometimes  produce  a  state  of  discontent 
and  irritation  among  the  students,  affecting  injuriously  the 
interests  of  the  institution  of  which  the  latter  are  members. 
When  to  these  circumstances  we  add  the  consideration  that 
these  distinctions  operate  only  on  a  few  individuals,  the  most 
talented  or  ambitious  of  a  class,  and  that  as  to  the  majority, 
comprehending  all  those  who  require  in  the  greatest  degree 
the  application  of  a  stimulus,  they  are  entirely  and  notorious- 
ly inefficient,  I  think  that,  putting  out  of  view  all  that  has 
been  plausibly  urged  against  the  principle  of  rivalry  as  a 
chief  motive  to  exertion  on  the  part  of  the  youthful  mind,  an 
unprejudiced  person  would  be  led  to  doubt  at  least  the  expe- 
diency of  the  distinctions  in  question,  even  if  nothing  could 
be  discovered  to  be  substituted  in  their  place.    There  is, 


36 

however,  a  substitute  which,  in  my  opinion,  would  be  of 
much  more  efficacy  than  what  it  is  proposed  to  dispense  with ; 
one  which  would  instil  motives  much  purer  in  their  nature, 
would  be  much  more  influential  on  the  minds  of  students 
generally,  and  have  a  tendency,  at  the  same  time,  to  render 
the  exercise  of  a  severe  discipline  less  necessary  and  less 
frequent.  What  I  allude  to  is  the  introduction  into  our 
colleges  of  a  much  more  familiar  intercourse  between  the 
students  and  their  instructers  than  is  the  case  at  present. 
That  intercourse  is  now  almost  every  where  strictly  profes- 
sional, the  instructions  of  the  professors  being  exclusively,  or 
nearly  so,  such  as  are  given  ex  cathedra.  I  would  institute, 
in  the  presence,  and  under  the  superintendence,  of  each  pro- 
fessor, in  such  departments  of  study  as  admit  of  it,  discussions 
between  the  students,  of  questions  connected  with  the  subjects 
of  their  studies,  and  would,  in  every  department,  encourage 
and  lead  them  to  ask  freely  for  information  on  such  points  as 
they  found  either  difficult  or  obscure,  inviting  them  at  the  same 
time  to  make  any  objections  they  pleased  to  the  explanations 
or  opinions  of  their  teachers.  To  give  them  an  opportunity 
for  this  I  would  have  an  hour  to  be  set  apart  by  every  profes- 
sor for  conversation  with  his  pupils.  I  would  have  him  to 
be  at  home  at  that  hour  to  receive  their  visits.  The  infor- 
mation and  hints  that  would  be  derived  by  the  student  from 
such  an  intercourse  with  his  instructers  would,  I  am  persua- 
ded, be  a  valuable  auxiliary  to  the  more  formal  instructions 
obtained  by  him  from  his  books  or  in  the  lecture  room,  and 
would  powerfully  contribute  to  excite  in  his  mind  a  taste  for 
knowledge,  and  a  spirit  to  pursue  it,  worth  more  than  all  the 


37 


effects  producible  by  the  distribution  of  the  ordinary  college 
honours.  But  this  is  not  all:  the  occasional  meeting  of  pro- 
fessor and  student  in  a  friendly  and  familiar  manner  in  the 
appartments  of  the  former,  and  the  investing  of  the  latter 
with  the  character  of  his  visiter,  will  have  a  very  natural 
tendency  to  bind  them  together  by  a  closer  and  a  kindlier  tie. 
The  student  will  become  less  inclined  to  look  upon  his  instruc- 
ters  and  governors  as  a  party  having  different  interests  from 
himself,  and  less  disposed  to  regard  a  violation  of  college  law 
as  the  breaking  loose  from  a  restraint  imposed  upon  his 
natural  liberty  by  a  foreign  and  oppressive  authority.  Hav- 
ing more  of  a  feeling  of  gratitude  than  at  present  for  the 
interest  taken  in  his  education  by  his  instructers,  and,  treated 
by  them,  in  a  certain  degree,  as  a  companion,  he  will  natu- 
rally assume  a  self-respect,  and  a  manliness  of  character  and 
deportment,  which,  supposing  him  to  be  actuated  by  no 
higher  considerations  of  propriety,  will  make  him  scorn  to  be 
guilty  of  outrages  on  order,  or  even  of  any  more  childish 
mischief.  In  short,  in  such  a  state  of  things  a  confidence 
would  be  reposed  in  his  instructers  by  the  student  which 
would  have  a  strong  tendency  to  render  their  counsel  and 
admonitions  efficacious  in  preserving  him  from  vice,  and  in 
inculcating  correct  and  virtuous  principles  of  action;  and  thus 
likewise,  as  I  have  already  stated,  to  render  the  application  of 
penalty  and  punishment  much  less  requisite  or  frequent. 

"  If  it  be  asked,  why  not,  as  our  colleges  are  at  present 
organized,  introduce  these  proposed  improvements,  without 
interfering  with  the  established  system  of  rewards,  I  might 


38 


reply  to  the  question  by  inquiring  in  my  turn;  why  have 
they  not  been  already  introduced  into  our  colleges?  Surely 
the  suggestions  made  are  not  so  recondite  in  their  nature  as 
never  to  have  occurred  to  the  many  men  of  high  intelligence 
constituting  the  Faculties  of  so  many  of  them.  The  fact 
is  that  the  existing  state  of  things,  which  I  am  anxious  to 
see  altered,  is  the  necessary  result  of  the  arrangement  of  the 
students  into  regularly  organized  bodies,  and  of  the  distribu- 
tion among  them  of  the  usual  distinctions  and  honors.  The 
student  who  would  frequently  visit  his  instructer,  or  even  ex- 
hibit, unasked  for  and  unnecessarily  in  any  way  before  his 
class,  his  information,  or  his  desire  to  obtain  information, 
would  at  once  become  an  object  of  suspicion  and  jea- 
lousy. He  would  be  charged  by  his  fellow  students  with  an 
intention  to  curry  favor  in  order  to  obtain  unfairly  an  honor. 
He  is  condemned  by  their  esprit  du  corps  to  content  himself 
with  such  displays  of  his  knowledge  or  talent  alone  as  can 
be  fairly  made  in  reply  to  the  questions  put  to  him,  in  the 
class  by  his  teacher.  For  the  confirmation  of  this  statement 
I  appeal  to  the  professors  and  students  of  colleges  generally. 

"In  urging  the  abolition  of  the  usual  system  of  distinctions 
and  honors,  I  wish  not  to  be  understood  as  being  hostile  to  the 
practice  which  prevails  in  several  of  our  colleges,  of  making  a 
report  at  certain  stated  periods  to  parents  and  guardians,  not 
only  of  the  conduct,  but  likewise  of  the  scholarship,  of  their 
children  or  wards.  This  I  regard,  on  the  contrary,  as  a 
most  useful  measure,  since  it  secures,  in  aid  of  college  disci- 
pline, the  co-operation  of  those  whose  approbation  must 


39 


always  be  one  of  the  most  powerful  incitements  to  diligence 
and  virtue,  on  the  part  of  the  young,  that  can  possibly  be 
applied. 

"I  would  also  approve  of  competitions  for  prizes  to  be 
awarded  for  excelling  in  the  voluntary  performance  of  some 
specific  exercise,  such  as  writing  the  best  essay  on  some  par- 
ticular subject,  or  giving  the  best  solution  of  some  particular 
problem.  The  objections  stated  above,  would  scarcely  apply 
to  cases  of  this  kind,  since  the  merits  of  the  competitors  would 
not  be  determined  by  a  doubtful  comparison  of  them  during 
a  considerable  period  of  time,  but  by  a  single  more  ajrpre- 
ciable  effort;  and  the  awarders  of  the  prizes  would,  on  that 
account,  be  less  subject  to  the  imputation  of  partiality. 
Moreover,  until  the  prizes  were  actually  proposed  from  the 
uncertain  nature  of  their  subjects,  the  individuals  who  would 
compete  for  them,  would  not,  and  could  not,  be  known  or 
surmised,  and  none  would,  therefore,  stand  out  as  objects  of 
suspicion  or  jealousy  to  their  colleagues,  in  reference  to  their 
intercourse  with  their  professors.  In  order,  however,  to  avoid, 
as  much  as  is  possible,  an  occasion  for  any  thing  of  this  sort, 
it  would  be  expedient  in  all  cases  where  prizes  are  to  be 
competed  for,  that  as  little  time  as  can  well  be,  should  inter- 
vene between  their  being  proposed,  and  decided  upon. 

"The  student  should,  at  the  close  of  every  course  of  instruc- 
tion which  he  may  have  attended,  with  the  approbation  of 
his  professor,  be  entitled  to  a  certificate  from  the  latter 
testifying  to  that  fact.    These  certificates  might  be  made 


40 


entirely  to  take  the  place  of  the  degree  of  A.  B.  now  conferred 
on  all  who  complete  their  college  course;  and  I  am  not  sure 
whether  they  might  not  do  it  with  a  good  effect .  But  with  res- 
pect to  this,  I  shall  be  silent,  having  already  extended  my  obser- 
vations to  an  immoderate  length,  and  also  because  I  am  dis- 
posed to  think  it  expedient,  on  account  of  the  prejudices  which 
prevail  in  the  community  generally,  and  particularly  among 
the  younger  portion  of  it,  in  favor  of  diplomas  and  degrees,  to 
continue  to  confer  them  as  heretofore  with  the  following  modi- 
fications, to  prevent  them  from  doing  more  harm  than  good. 
First,  in  the  place  of  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  a  term 
which  in  a  literal  sense,  has  now  no  meaning,  I  would  suggest 
the  adoption  from  the  French,  of  the  two  degrees  of  Bachelor 
in  literature,  and  Bachelor  in  science.  To  be  entitled  to  the 
former  of  these,  the  candidate  should  be  required  to  have 
among  other  requisites,  a  knowledge  of  the  Greek  and  Latin 
languages;  and  the  latter  should  be  conferred  on  every  stu- 
dent, who  had  made  a  certain  progress  in  some  of  the  sciences, 
as,  for  example,  in  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy,  or 
in  Chemistry  and  Natural  History.  Secondly,  applications 
should  be  made  for  degrees  at  stated  periods: — annually 
would  be  preferable  in  deference  to  existing  usages,  and,  per- 
haps, likewise  on  account  of  the  arrangement  and  length  of 
the  college  courses,  which  would  naturally  have  some  rela- 
tion to  the  period  of  a  year;  and  the  candidates  ought,  a 
short  time,  or  immediately,  after  making  their  applications, 
to  be  examined  on  the  branches  of  knowledge  requisite  for 
obtaining  the  degree  applied  for.  With  these  arrangements 
the  sciences  would  no  longer  be  regarded,  in  so  far  as  the 


41 


degrees  conferred  in  our  colleges  have  a  tendency  to  make 
them  so  regarded,  as  entirely  secondary  in  importance  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  languages ;  but  would  assume  their  natu- 
ral and  proper  dignity  in  the  college  system.  And  by  ma- 
king the  conferring  of  a  degree  to  depend  on  a  special  appli- 
cation to  be  made  shortly  before  it  is  conferred,  a  perfect 
equality  of  rank  would  be  ostensibly  maintained  among  the 
students  so  long  as  they  continue  together,  and  little  or  no 
feeling  of  degradation  could  possibly  enter  the  breasts  of 
those  who  did  not  aim  at  the  honors  of  a  diploma, — a  cir- 
cumstance which  I  deem  of  no  small  importance,  not  only 
in  reference  to  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  the  young  men 
who  are  actually  members  of  a  college  institution,  but  like- 
wise because  an  obstacle  would  thus  be  removed,  which, 
under  a  different  state  of  things,  might  operate  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  many  individuals  of  sensitive  feelings,  from  the 
advantages  of  an  education. 

"I  had  intended  to  dwell  somewhat  at  length  on  what 

appears  to  me  to  be  the  most  profitable  mode  of  conveying 

instruction  to  young  men  of  the  age  of  those  who  usually  go 

to  college.    But  I  must,  gentlemen,  have  already  exhausted 

your  indulgence;  and  I  shall  merely  remark,  that  from 

much  experience  and  inquiry  both  at  home  and  abroad,  I  am 

persuaded  that  the  error  is  as  frequently  committed  in  this 

country  of  teaching  almost  entirely  by  hearing  recitations 

from  a  text  book,  as  in  Europe  by  trusting  to  the  delivery  of 

lectures  alone.    Both  these  methods  I  regard  as  extremes  to 

be  avoided.    The  proper  system  seems  to  me  to  be  a  combi- 

6 


42 

nation  of  lectures,  on  all  the  branches  that  admit  of  them, 
with  close  examinations  on  their  subject,  and  on  the  corres- 
pondent parts  of  a  text  book  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  the 
students.  With  these  accompaniments  I  do  think  that  lectur- 
ing is  not  only  the  most  agreeable  mode  of  communicating 
instruction  but  that  there  is  no  other  public  mode  in  which  a 
taste  and  an  enthusiasm  for  knowledge  can  be  so  readily 
excited.  There  is  something  peculiarly  impressive  in  the 
tones  and  aspect  of  a  public  speaker  which  we  can  fully 
realize  by  reflecting  on  the  very  different  effect  produced  by 
a  written  discourse  read  in  the  closet,  and  the  same  discourse 
delivered  from  the  pulpit  or  the  rostrum  by  a  man  of  even 
ordinary  powers  of  elocution.  I  would,  therefore,  oblige 
every  professor  to  read  a  course  of  lectures,  or  to  lecture  with- 
out note  if  he  pleased,  on  the  subjects  embraced  in  his 
department :  if  he  can  do  the  latter  well,  so  much  the  better. 
There  is,  indeed,  one  case,  and  one  case  only,  in  which  I 
would  allow  him  to  hear  recitations  from  a  book,  and  comment 
upon  the  text,  to  wit,  when  he  is  himself  the  author  of  the 
text-book;  for  there  would  then  be  evidently  very  little  use 
in  repeating  to  his  hearers  what  they  have  before  them  in 
print;  and  there  would  be  no  danger  of  his  comments  being 
either  spiritless  or  sparing." 

It  was  then 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Convention 
be  presented  to  Professor  Vethake  for  his  interest- 
ing communication. 

Resolved,  That  the  communication  of  Profes- 


43 

sor  Vethake  be  referred  to  a  committee  of  three 
members,  to  take  the  same  into  consideration,  and 
to  report  thereon. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee on  Professor  Vethake's  communication,  viz : 
President  Marsh, 
Mr.  Jared  Sparks, 
Professor  Robinson. 

The  following  topics  were  then  handed  in  for 
discussion,  and  having  been  read  by  the  Secreta- 
ry were  placed  on  file. 

No.  8.  The  importance  of  adding  a  department 
of  English  Language,  in  which  the  studies  of 
Rhetoric  and  English  Classics  shall  be  minutely 
pursued. 

No.  9.  A  National  Society,  for  the  promotion 
of  Science  and  Literature. 

No.  10.  The  importance  of  making  the  civil 
and  political  institutions  of  our  country,  the  sub- 
ject of  special  study  for  all  our  youth. 

No.  11.  Whether  any  religious  service,  and  if 


44 

any,  what,  may  with  propriety  be  connected  with 
a  University.* 

No.  12.  Whether  any  course  of  instruction  on 
the  evidences  of  Christianity  will  be  admissible. 

On  motion  of  Dr.  Cox,  duly  seconded, 
Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  members 
be  appointed,  to  whom  shall  be  referred  Topic 
No.  9 — "a  National  Literary  and  Scientific  So- 
ciety." 

The  following  gentlemen  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee, under  the  above  resolution, — 
Hon.  E.  Livingston, 
Hon.  Albert  Gallatin, 
Professor  Silliman, 
Dr.  J.  M.  Mathews, 
Dr.  Samuel  H.  Cox. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Hasler,  of  New  York,  duly 
seconded,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  arrangement 
be  appointed  of  five  members,  to  whom  shall  be 

*  Topics  No.  1 1  and  12  were  withdrawn.  See  proceedings  of  the 
third  day. 


45 

referred  all  propositions  or  communications  for 
discussion  or  inquiry. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  appointed  a 
committee  of  arrangement,  under  the  foregoing 
resolution,  viz  : 

Dr.  J.  M.  Wainwright, 

Professor  Dewey, 

Mr.  John  Delafield, 

Rev.  T.  H.  Gallaudet, 

Rev.  Cyrus  Mason. 

Dr.  Mathews  then  presented  a  communication 
from  Mr.  George  Bancroft,  of  Northampton,  Mass. 
which,  at  the  request  of  the  members,  was  read, — 
as  follows  : 

"  To  the  successful  execution  of  any  scheme  of  benevo- 
lence, there  is  required  a  clear  perception  of  the  nature  of  the 
purpose  to  be  accomplished,  and  an  iron  will  to  execute  it. 
In  the  present  case  the  object  in  view  does  not  avoid  discus- 
sion, but  rather  rises  in  distinctness  and  importance  as  inquiry 
is  pursued. 

"A  University  in  its  perfect  extent  is  one  of  the  noblest 
results  of  human  intelligence.  It  aims  at  nothing  less  than 
to  furnish  a  concentration  of  all  useful  knowledge;  to  collect, 
to  digest,  to  diffuse  all  the  learning,  which  can  in  any  man- 


46 


ner  be  made  the  fit  subject  of  public  instruction  and  promote 
the  honor  and  advantage  of  the  nation.  An  individual 
is  plainly  incompetent  to  fulfil  any  but  a  small  part  of  such  a 
purpose.  It  requires  joint  action:  it  requires  that,  which 
more  than  any  thing  else  constitutes  the  happiness  of  liberal 
minds,  the  extensive  co-operation  of  good  men  in  furthering 
good  designs.  To  such  an  institution  belong,  a  library,  col- 
lections in  natural  history,  hospitals;  men  learned  in  the 
professions  and  in  the  arts;  the  inquisitive  and  ambitious 
of  the  young. 

"  A  University  is  not  devoted  exclusively  to  any  one  de- 
partment of  knowledge.  It  opens  its  gates  wide  to  the  recep- 
tion of  all  valuable  truth;  and  sustaining  no  particular 
branch  of  science  by  the  sanction  of  prescription,  by  the 
continuance  of  favoritism,  or  by  the  dead  letter  of  intellectual 
mort  mains,  it  allows  to  each  division  of  human  knowledge 
that  degree  of  prominence,  which  its  intrinsic  merits  can 
obtain.  In  the  true  social  spirit,  it  receives  and  takes  an  in- 
terest in  every  thing  that  belongs  to  the  human  understand- 
ing. 

"  Neither  is  it  a  mere  system  of  lectures  adapted  to  the 
curious  and  the  idle.  It  is  designed  not  to  afford  pastime  but 
to  excite  and  encourage  severe  industry;  not  to  furnish 
amusement,  but  to  diffuse  and  also  to  advance  science. 

"  Nor  does  it  attach  itself  to  any  sect  in  religion.  God 
forbid,  that  the  day  should  ever  arrive,  when  there  should  be 


47 


a  separation  of  pure  morality  and  deep  religious  conviction 
from  our  public  places  of  education;  but  the  character  of  a 
University  requires,  that  it  should  he  subordinate  to  no  religious 
party,  subservient  to  no  religious  sect.  It  must  be  established 
independently,  on  its  own  merits. 

"  The  idea  of  a  University,  liberally  constructed,  precludes 
rivalry  or  jealousy.  Competition  between  literary  corpora- 
tions does  not  produce  the  same  excellent  results  as  competi- 
tion between  literary  men.  The  very  nature  of  a  University 
implies,  as  we  have  seen,  so  extensive  co-operation,  so  enlar- 
ged a  liberality,  that  it  cheerfully  receives  within  itself  all  the 
genuine  friends  of  science. 

"  But  as  between  man  and  man,  there  is  nothing  so  salu- 
tary as  that  healthful  competition,  which  ensures  the  greatest 
success  to  the  most  industrious  and  most  powerful  efforts,  in  a 
University,  a  career  must  be  opened,  not  places  established. 
Things  must  be  so  arranged,  as  to  have  exertion  a  natural 
result  of  causes  always  in  operation.  No  board  of  directors, 
no  examining  committee,  no  legislative  precautions,  can  effect 
the  results,  which  come  spontaneously  from  the  free  develop- 
ment of  talent  under  the  excitement  of  emulation,  and  stimu- 
lated by  the  prospect  of  emolument  and  fame.  The  scholar 
should,  indeed,  himself,  prefer  his  vocation  to  every  thing, 
and  will  never  attain  eminence,  unless  his  unbiassed  inclina- 
tions are  heartily  engaged  in  his  pursuit;  but  the  interest  of 
the  public  requires  that  honors  and  rewards  should  be  com- 
mensurate with  practical  exertions;  for  the  public  in  its  nur- 


48 


series  of  science  needs  to  foster,  not  the  indolent  gratification 
of  a  favorite  taste,  but  a  hardy  perseverance  in  a  course  of 
active  usefulness. 

"The  establishment  of  a  University,  calls  for  an  effort, 
proportioned  to  the  dignity  and  importance  of  the  design. 
Its  perfect  results  can  at  best  be  realized  but  slowly.  A  very 
few  years  ago  the  government  of  Bavaria  opened  a  University 
in  Munich,  a  city  not  much  more  than  one  third  as  large  as 
New  York;  but  as  former  ages  had  already  collected  there, 
hospitals,  a  very  valuable  museum,  a  magnificent  library,  and 
other  fixtures,  the  establishment  within  a  year  after  its  forma- 
tion, went  into  successful  operation.  So,  too,  at  Berlin,  a  city 
by  far  the  largest  in  Northern  Germany,  yet  much  inferior  to 
New  York,  in  wealth  and  business,  and  population ;  a  palace, 
a  royal  library,  hospitals,  a  most  admirable  cabinet  of  natural 
history,  were  at  once  given  to  lend  a  lustre  to  the  rising 
University,  and  its  growth  into  celebrity  was  sure  and  rapid. 
But  it  took  nearly  a  century  to  bring  Gottingen  to  its  present 
high  distinction  ;  the  genius  of  a  Haller  was  needed,  to 
expand  its  means  of  instruction  in  Natural  History:  the 
marvellous  perseverance  of  Heyne,  to  impart  correct  views 
on  the  subject  of  its  library;  and  now  the  talent  of  a  Gauss 
to  give  perfection  to  its  observatories. 

"  In  New  York  there  is  no  public  library  of  any  very  con- 
siderable value.*    No  scientific  collections  in  the  various  de- 

*  Mr.  Bancroft  will  be  happy  to  know  that  he  is  under  a  mistake 
as  to  the  facts  in  this  matter. — See  page  17. 


49 


partments  which  need  them.  But  the  study  of  medicine  and 
surgery  is  favored  by  the  very  condition  of  being  in  a  metropo- 
lis; and  a  learned,  intelligent  and  active  bar,  courts  of  all 
kinds,  the  natural  attractions  of  a  large  city,  and  a  lucra- 
tive profession,  would  seem  suited  to  invite  the  youthful  aspi- 
rants after  eminence  in  the  law .  At  Gottingen  seven  hundred 
is  no  unusual  number  to  belong  to  the  law  department  alone. 
And  the  profession  is  with  us,  a  more  crowded  one,  than  it  is 
in  Europe.  The  pursuits  of  philosophy  and  the  arts,  on  the 
contrary,  may  have  a  harder  struggle.  Our  countrymen 
profess,  many  of  them,  to  strive  to  see,  how  much  of  the 
learning  of  former  ages  may  be  dispensed  with,  rather  than 
how  much  may  be  retained.  In  the  absurdly  boasted  march 
of  mind,  they  would  propose  to  throw  away  the  accumulated 
stores  of  preceding  ages,  as  useless  baggage,  forgetting  that 
all  knowledge  is  but  an  accumulation  of  facts,  and  of  rea- 
sonings, based  upon  them.  The  rejection  of  the  wisdom  of 
the  past,  does  not  awaken  originality,  but  produces  poverty  of 
intellect  by  the  loss  of  the  materials,  on  which  originality 
should  be  exercised. 

"  Finally,  the  question  recurs,  whether  the  country  in  its 
present  condition,  demands  a  University,  and  whether  any 
responsibility  rests  upon  New  York  with  relation  to  it. 

"  With  respect  to  the  wants  of  the  country,  the  answer  must 
be  found  in  the  numbers  of  our  people,  already  surpassing 
that  of  any  protestant  kingdom  or  state  in  the  world,  except- 
ing England;   in  the  character  of  our  government,  which 


50 


can  never  interfere  with  free  inquiry  and  the  pursuit  of  truth ; 
in  the  relative  age  of  our  population,  which,  in  its  rapid 
increase  furnishes  a  larger  proportion  of  persons  to  be  educat- 
ed than  is  found  in  older  countries;  in  the  basis  of  our 
social  system,  which  regards  intelligence  as  a  conservative 
not  less  than  as  a  productive  principle  in  the  body  politic;  in 
the  forming  character  of  all  our  institutions,  which  are  as 
yet  hardly  fixed,  but  remains  yet  to  receive  the  impress  which 
they  are  to  bear  forever;  in  the  period  of  our  history,  when 
the  old  states  are  in  truth  rapidly  becoming  the  mothers  of 
new  ones;  in  the  condition  of  our  strength,  since  the  weak- 
ness of  to-day  becomes  to-morrow,  the  confidence  and  ad- 
miration of  the  world;  and  lastly  in  the  character  of  our 
population,  proverbially  ambitious,  and  inquisitive,  where 
elementary  education  is  already  universally  diffused,  and 
where,  under  the  auspices  of  our  political  equality,  the  public 
walks  of  honor  and  emulation,  are  crowded  with  throngs 
from  every  class  of  society. 

"  If  attention  recurs  to  New  York,  the  mind  readily  recals 
the  extended  relations  of  this  city  with  the  foreign  world. 
Where  can  the  wisdom  of  former  generations,  the  intellectual 
inheritance  bequeathed  by  the  old  world  to  the  new,  where 
can  it  so  readily  be  gathered  and  received  as  in  the  city, 
which  has  its  agents  under  every  zone,  and  is  connected 
by  the  closest  bonds  with  every  part  of  the  civilized  world? 

"  The  subject  gains  a  deeper  interest,  when  we  consider 
the  influence  which  New  York  must  necessarily  exert  upon 


51 


the  country.  The  emigrant  in  the  remotest  settlements 
looks  to  this  city  as  the  place  that  connects  him  with  the 
active  world.  Whether  we  give  attention  to  it  or  not,  New 
York,  the  mistress  of  the  sea,  holding  also  in  her  hands 
the  keys  of  the  interior,  is  the  very  heart  of  the  business  com- 
munity; and  its  pulsations  are  felt  throughout  the  land. 
Thechristian  philanthropist,  the  advocates  of  religious  liberty, 
and  the  advocates  of  intelligence,  have  to  decide,  whether 
this  extensive  power  shall  be  felt  only  through  the  markets 
and  the  exchange,  or  whether  it  shall  be  the  means  of  fos- 
tering that  great  communion,  which  exists  among  all  the 
friends  of  humanity. 

"  On  New  York  itself  a  successful  University  might  not 
only  reflect  a  brilliancy  of  reputation,  but  also  confer  ines- 
timable benefits.  It  might  assist  in  giving  an  honorable 
direction  to  the  destinies  of  the  city,  and  might  aid  in  deve- 
loping the  talent,  required  for  the  wisest  and  noblest  em- 
ployment of  the  vast  material  wealth,  which  is  so  rapidly 
increasing. 

"  On  men  of  letters  the  great  commercial  city  would  exert 
a  favorable  influence.  The  habit  of  the  place  is  industry; 
and  the  literary  man,  partaking  of  the  general  excitement,  is 
led  to  form  habits  of  profound  application.  So,  too,  the  varied 
intercourse  with  men  of  all  nations,  stirs  the  stagnant  pool  of 
superstitition  and  prejudice.  The  immense  movements  in 
business,  the  daily  spectacle  of  crowds  of  sail  from  every 
quarter  of  the  world,  the  frequent  presence  of  minds,  which 


52 

have  been  developed  in  the  most  different  pursuits,  or  ripened 
under  every  sky,  gradually  yet  surely  tend  to  promote  intel- 
lectual freedom,  and  to  do  away  that  narrow  mindedness 
which  is  the  worst  enemy  of  improvement." 

Whereupon,  on  motion,  duly  seconded,  Mr. 
Bancroft's  communication  was  referred  to  the 
committee  of  arrangements. 

On  motion  made  and  duly  seconded, 
Resolved,  That  this  Convention  will  meet,  dur- 
ing its  Session,  at  10  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
5  o'clock,  in  the  afternoon. 

Mr.  William  C.  Woodbridge,  in  consequence  of 
ill  health,  requested  to  be  excused  from  serving 
as  the  Assistant  Secretary;  which  having  been 
agreed  to  by  the  members,  the  Rev.  T.  H.  Gal- 
laudet,  of  Hartford,  was  appointed  Assistant  Se- 
cretary. 

The  following  topics  were  presented  for  discus- 
sion. 

No.  13.  Ought  students  to  be  confined  to  their 
classes;  or  allowed  to  receive  degrees  when  found 
prepared  on  examination? 


53 

No.  14.  Is  it  proper  to  introduce  the  Bible  as 
a  classic  in  the  institutions  of  a  christian  country? 

The  Secretary  read  the  topics  to  the  meeting, 
and  placed  them  on  file. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  to  meet  at  5 
o'clock,  P.  M. 

J.  Delafield,  Secretary. 

AFTERNOON    SESSION. 

The  President,  Vice  Presidents  and  members, 
took  their  seats,  at  5  o'clock. 

The  Secretary,  read  letters  from  Dr.  Nott,  of 
Schenectady,  and  President  Carnahan,  of  Prince- 
ton, regretting  their  unavoidable  absence,  and 
expressing  their  best  wishes  in  favor  of  the  pro- 
posed objects. 

The  committee  of  arrangements  then  presented 
topic  No.  1,  for  consideration. 

Dr.  Lieber,  of  Boston,  read  a  communication 
in  relation  to  the  organization,  courses  of  study, 


54 

and   discipline   of  the    German   universities,    as 
follows: 

"  It  is  an  opinion,  very  general  in  England,  and,  as  I 
have  reason  to  suppose  not  much  less  so  in  the  United 
States,  that  the  high  state  of  science  in  the  German  univer- 
sities, is  chiefly,  and  some  maintain,  even  solely  owing  to 
the  scanty  remuneration  of  their  Professors,  and  their  being 
consequently  obliged  to  be  more  active,  in  order  to  be  able 
to  support  themselves  and  their  families.  This  opinion  is, 
according  to  my  knowledge,  totally  erroneous.  That  the 
salaries  at  most  universities  in  Germany  are  very  low,  com- 
pared to  what  other  persons  of  much  less  acquirement  enjoy 
from  government,  is  true,  and  is  owing,  partly,  to  the  cir- 
cumstance, that  most  universities  were  founded  in  ages 
when  the  value  of  money  was  much  greater  than  at  present, 
(hence  also  the  Professors  of  Gymnasiums  have  generally 
very  small  salaries) ;  and  partly  to  the  fact  that  many  of  them 
are  supported  by  small  sovereignties,  unable  to  give  much 
higher  salaries;  as  those,  for  instance,  belonging  to  Saxony, 
the  Saxon  dukedoms,  Wurtemberg,  &c.  The  Professors  of 
those  universities  which  have  been  established  recently,  and 
by  governments,  able  to  afford  comparatively  high  salaries 
for  the  Professors,  have  received  such,  and  this  arrangement 
has  been  crowned  with  the  most  brilliant  success.  The 
universities  of  Berlin  and  Bonn  are  both  of  very  recent  date, 
and  yet  they  have  already  eclipsed  almost  all  the  ancient 
universities,  Gottingen  and  Halle  excepted;  and  of  Gottingen 


55 


the  same  may  be  said  as  of  Berlin,  it  has  been  more 
liberally  endowed  than  other  more  ancient  universities, 
being,  though  an  old  university  in  comparison  to  Berlin 
and  Bonn,  yet  of  recent  date,  if  compared  to  many  other 
academies  of  Germany.  And  is  this  consequence  of  a  libe- 
ral remuneration  at  all  surprising?  Though,  as  I  immedi- 
ately shall  state  more  fully,  I  firmly  believe,  that  the  German 
universities  do  not  owe  their  excellence  to  the  emulation  of 
Professors,  stimulated  by  the  love  of  gain;  yet  a  Professor, 
who  has  an  equal  chance  to  be  useful,  to  distinguish  himself 
and  to  labor  successfully  in  the  field  of  science  in  one  uni- 
versity as  in  another,  (and  has  in  fact  a  better  prospect  of 
success  and  usefulness,  where  he  finds  most  students  assem- 
bled,) of  course  prefers  to  go  where  a  larger  salary  awaits  him, 
and  where  he  therefore  can  provide  more  easily  for  his 
family,  and,  perhaps,  save  a  small  sum  to  leave  to  his 
children.  Berlin  has  thus  attracted  the  first  men  of  Ger- 
many, in  almost  all  branches,  and,  though  her  university 
has  existed  only  twenty  years,  it  rivals  any  university  in 
the  world.  I  know  that  for  several  branches,  particularly 
medicine,  Berlin  affords  peculiar  advantages,  on  account 
of  many  institutions  only  to  be  found  in  large  cities,  and 
that  the  university  owes  a  great  part  of  its  unequalled 
success  to  these  institutions,  and  other  opportunities  for  the 
successful  prosecution  of  science,  which  offer  themselves  there 
to  the  student;  but  its  numerous  assembly  of  distinguished 
Professors  is  owing  to  the  more  liberal  remuneration  with 
which  this  university  rewards  the  labors  of  its  Professors. 


56 


Does  it  not  much  more  agree  even  with  the  principles  of  po- 
litical economy,  to  which  the  opinion,  given  at  the  beginning 
of  these  lines,  often  is  referred  for  support,  that  he  who  pays 
best,  will  have  the  best  work?  I  have  lived  many  years  in 
Germany,  and  always  intimately  connected  with  teachers  of 
universities,  and  never  in  my  life  have  heard  even  an  allu- 
sion to  the  principle,  that  the  German  universities  owe 
their  excellence  to  the  emulation  of  Professors,  caused  by 
the  necessity  to  provide  for  themselves  by  a  monied  harvest 
of  popularity  among  their  students;  yet  emulation  is  one 
of  the  prime  agents  with  the  German  Professors,  but  it  is 
an  emulation  of  a  nobler  kind. 

"  In  every  German  university  the  permission  to  teach  may 
be  obtained  by  any  one,  if  he  has  proved,  by  examinations, 
made  under  the  authority  of  the  university,  that  he  is  fit 
to  teach  in  that  branch,  for  which  he  wants  the  permission, 
called  liceniia  docendi.  Gentlemen,  who  have  thus  ob- 
tained the  right  to  lecture,  generally  young  men,  who  may, 
for  example  have  just  distinguished  themselves  by  some  new 
work,  are  called  Privat-docenten  (private  teachers,)  and 
have  the  privilege,  to  insert  their  intended  lectures  in  the 
half-yearly  university  catalogue,  and  generally,  to  lecture 
in  the  university  building,  where  such  exists.  These  lec- 
turers receive  no  salary;  but  this  is  almost  without  exception 
the  way,  in  which  German  Professors  begin  their  career. 
Thus  then  a  Professor  ordinarius,  or  a  regularly  appointed 
Professor,  has  young  teachers  competing  with  him,  and 


57 


should  he  have  become  negligent,  or  should  he  not  have 
gone,  with  sufficient  activity,  along  with  the  times,  he  is 
exposed  to  the  danger  of  having  such  rising  suns  eclipse 
him,  and  carry  away  the  favor  of  the  Professor  and  the 
students,  the  opinion  of  the  former,  of  whom,  is  of  much 
more  consequence  to  him,  than  that  of  the  latter.  Govern- 
ment also  often  appoints  Professores  extraordinarii,  a 
kind  of  second  rank  of  Professors,  either  if  there  are  too 
many  students  for  a  certain  branch,  or  if  government  wishes 
particularly  to  appoint  a  certain  person,  and  yet  cannot  dis- 
charge the  Professor  ordinarius.  Teaching  in  German 
universities,  of  which  there  are  so  many,  forms  a  real  pro- 
fession, as  that  of  the  healing  art,  or  that  of  theology;  the 
emulation  therefore  is  much  greater,  than  in  countries, 
where  the  Professors  of  universities  form  but  a  small  body, 
not  numerous  enough  for  emulation. 

"  Let  us  however  see,  how  far  the  stimulus  of  love  of  money 
possibly  could  operate  with  German  Professors.  I  allow  that 
in  the  two  branches  of  medicine  and  law,  Professors  may 
gain  by  popular  lectures  considerable  sums,  in  universities 
which  count  a  large  number  of  students,  as  Berlin  and 
Gottingen.  In  fact,  I  know  that  some  lectures,  treating 
of  subjects  of  immediate  professional  interest,  are  very  lucra- 
tive for  the  lecturers.  But  how  is  it  with  all  other  branches; 
with  those  very  branches  which  have  become  the  greatest 
ornaments  to  some  universities?  If  love  of  gain  had  been 
the  most  powerful  stimulus  of  German  Professors,  theology 

never  would  have  flourished  with  them,  because  in  Ger- 

8 


58 


many  the  students  of  theology,  are  far,  by  far  the  greater 
part  poor,  and  yet  are  not  the  German  theologians  (though 
many  may  disagree  with  their  opinions  and  doctrines) 
generally  considered  the  most  learned  of  the  age?  Does 
not  Germany  owe  a  great  part  of  her  fame  for  erudition  to 
her  theology,  cultivated,  as  we  have  seen,  by  men  far  from 
being  actuated  by  the  love  of  gain?  Mathematics  form 
another  branch  in  which  the  Germans  have  much  distin- 
guished themselves  ever  since  the  time  of  Regiomontanus. 
Now,  I  ask  how  much,  even  Professor  Gauss — le  plus 
grand  des  mathematicians,  as  La  Grange  called  him, — 
has  realized  from  his  lectures?  Mathematics,  at  least  the 
higher  branches  of  them,  never  can  be  very  popular,  I 
mean,  it  is  impossible  that  they  should  be  generally  studied, 
and  it  would  be  to  consign  a  Professor  to  absolute  indigence, 
if  government  should  leave  Professors  of  mathematics  de- 
pendent on  the  honorarium,  paid  by  their  students.  I  studied 
mathematics  under  the  celebrated  Pfaff ,  at  Halle,  whom  La 
Grange  called  un  des  premiers  mathematiciens,  and  we 
were  never  more  than  twenty  in  his  lecture  room,  of  whom, 
I  fully  believe,  not  much  more  than  half  paid  the  honora- 
rium, which,  was  very  small.  The  same  remark  is  appli- 
cable to  astronomy,  and,  in  a  great  degree  also  to  natural 
philosophy;  because,  though  it  is  a  science  of  very  general 
interest  and  use,  it  will  be  always  found,  that  few  per- 
sons only  make  a  regular  study  of  it.  Philology  in  its 
widest  sense  is  another  science,  to  which  Germany  owes 
a  very  great  part  of  her  reputation  for  erudition.  But  have 
her  Professors  realized  any  amount  of  money,  worth  being 


59 


mentioned  here,  from  their  lectures  on  the  ancient  lan- 
guages ?  I  say,  certainly  not,  and  do  not  except  Fer- 
mann,  at  Leipzig,  nor  Boekh,  at  Berlin.  By  far  the  greater 
part  of  those  students,  who  attend  to  philological  lectures, 
are  either  such,  as  are  preparing  themselves  for  the  higher 
schools,  or  theologians,  both  of  whom  are  generally  poor. 
What  would  become  of  a  Professor  of  Hebrew,  for  instance, 
if  he  depended  for  support  on  his  students?  I  include  here 
even  Professor  Gesenius,  of  Halle,  where  the  study  of  oriental 
literature  now  flourishes  more  than  at  any  other  place  in 
Germany.  If  a  Professor  of  the  ancient  languages  could 
not  find  a  sufficient  support  by  the  fees  of  the  students  in 
Germany,  where  philology  is  studied,  at  least,  as  much  as 
in  any  other  country,  how  could  it  be  expected  that  a 
teacher  of  this  indispensable  science  could  maintain  himself 
by  the  fees  for  his  lectures  only,  in  a  country,  where  this 
study  is  not  yet  so  generally  pursued.  The  German  Pro- 
fessors of  philosophy  are  distinguished,  but  no  one  can  pre- 
tend, that  they  ever  received  sufficient  worldly  support,  from 
their  pupils.  Kant,  Fichte,  Schelling,  never  have  been  ac- 
tuated by  the  love  or  necessity  of  gain,  to  make  their  lectures 
popular.  The  same  is  true  of  history.  But  enough  of  ex- 
amples.   The  fact  is  too  evident,  to  need  farther  illustration. 

"The  above  mentioned  stimulant  can  only,  by  possi- 
bility, have  any  effect  in  those  branches  of  study,  which 
have  an  immediate  professional  interest  (and  with  these  even 
many  exceptions  take  place,  as  philology,  and  theology,) 
and  moreover  only  in  those  universities,  which  are  so  nu- 


60 


merously  frequented  as  Berlin  and  Gottingen,  because  in  all 
the  other  universities,  the  income  of  even  a  Professor  of  Law 
or  Medicine,  could  not  amount  to  any  thing  considerable. 

"Almost  in  all  those  very  branches,  to  which  Germany 
owes  its  greatest  fame,  the  love  of  gain  cannot  have  had 
much  influence  from  the  nature  of  things. 

"Here  the  objection  might  be  made,  that  the  truly  useful  or 
professional  lectures,  would  be  attended  numerously,  and 
would  afford  a  decent  income  to  the  Professors,  whilst  those, 
which  are  not  attended  so  numerously,  are  proved,  by  this 
very  fact,  not  to  be  needed.  Indeed,  Scottish  economists 
have  started  this  assertion.  It  would  lead  me  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  present  subject;  were  I  to  give  my  views  re- 
specting that  word  useful,  so  popular  in  our  time,  and,  in  my 
opinion,  so  often  misunderstood,  so  vaguely  applied,  a  word, 
which  indicates  something  so  powerful  in  respect  of  all  the 
lower  branches  of  human  concerns,  and  is  so  devoid  of 
meaning,  wherever  we  elevate  ourselves  above  that  point. 
But,  it  is  necessary  for  me  to  state,  that  utility,  in  the  mean- 
ing in  which  it  is  taken  most  commonly,  that  is,  as  turning 
directly  to  account,  ought  by  no  means  to  be  the  sole  stan- 
dard in  establishing  a  university,  nay  not  even  the  highest. 
It  is  the  very  character  of  utility,  that  common  life  itself 
provides  for  it,  but  it  does  not,  and  cannot  provide  for  things 
or  objects,  whose  effects,  though  the  most  noble,  are  the 
more  distant.  Science  is  always  useful  in  a  higher  sense. 
It  ennobles  the  mind,  and  the  most  abstract  sciences,  which 


61 


at  first  glance  may  appear  the  most  useless,  are  the  least 
excepted  from  this  assertion.  I  ask  simply  and  plainly, 
who  is  able  to  give  a  definition  of  the  word  useful,  with 
regard  to  sciences  ?  Certainly  some  are  more  important  for 
a  university  than  others,  because  they  answer  certain  pur- 
poses, for  which  a  university  is  established,  more  fully  than 
others;  but  all  are  useful,  and  to  determine  their  degree  of 
usefulness,  by  the  number  of  students  who  attend  the 
lectures,  in  which  they  are  treated,  would  be,  in  my  opinion, 
somewhat  like  judging  the  usefulness  of  Christianity  by  the 
small  number  of  persons,  who  in  some  countries,  and  in  some 
ages,  attend  divine  service  But  let  us  consider  those  sciences 
which  are  generally  admitted  to  be  useful.  I  have  mentioned 
that  mathematics  and  astronomy  are  attended  to  in  the 
German  universities  in  a  way,  that  would  not  afford  an 
income  of  any  consideration,  to  the  Professor  from  the  fees 
of  his  pupils.  The  case  would  be  quite  the  same  in  this 
country,  and  who  is  there,  who  has  attended  at  all  to  science, 
or  literature,  and  does  not  acknowledge  that  the  very  highest 
branches  of  mathematics,  and  astronomy,  have  had  the  most 
momentous  influence  upon  mankind,  have  infused  their 
influence  into  natural  philosophy,  chemistry,  navigation,  and 
through  these  into  the  ordinary  business  of  life.  The  most 
abstract  function  of  a  La  Grange  is  in  connexion  with  the 
most  common  concerns  of  our  daily  life.  Is  it  forgotten,  that 
most  of  the  brilliant  and  influential  inventions  of  the  last 
half  century,  are  founded  upon  laws,  scientifically  established 
before  the  respective  inventions  for  practical  life?  If  the  view 
of  the  Scottish  economists  was  true  in  its  full  extent,  the  im- 


62 


mediate  consequence  would  be  that  science  would  rather  f  o  How 
common  life,  than  advance  before  it;  astronomy  then  would 
have  to  follow  navigation,  instead  of  pressing  boldly  forward, 
unconcerned  whether  every  step  could  be  turned  to  account, 
and  afterwards  offering  the  whole  result  of  its  useless  labors 
to  the  common  concerns  of  life,  which  greatly  profit  by  it.  It 
seems  to  me,  that  it  is  the  very  duty  of  a  university  to 
provide  for  branches  which  by  the  natural  course  of  things 
— as  in  every  country  they  take  a  certain  course — are 
left  unprovided  for.  I  will  give  an  instance.  Every  one 
in  this  country  studies  the  constitution,  and  is  naturally 
led  to  do  so.  It  would  seem  to  me  not  necessary,  then, 
to  appoint  a  Professor  for  the  history  of  the  United  States 
alone;  perhaps  even  some  evils  would  be  connected  with 
such  a  chair,  as  he  must  necessarily  view  it  in  the  light 
of  one  or  the  other  party  of  his  time;  whilst  I  would 
urge  strongly  the  establishment  of  a  professorship  of  general 
history,  (perhaps  connected  with  some  other  professorship,) 
because  the  ordinary  course  of  things  in  this  country,  or  in 
fact  any  where,  does  not  naturally  lead  to  that  salutary, 
noble  study,  that  truly  republican  and  religious  study,  which 
unfolds  to  us  the  great  book  of  experience,  teaching  us 
wisdom  from  the  experience  of  extinct  races,  from  what 
they  had  gained  or  lost,  enjoyed  or  suffered,  and  offering 
a  warning  from  the  grave  in  the  lessons  of  past  times, 
and  giving  warmth  and  expression  to  religious  feeling  by 
showing  how  He,  who  appears  in  every  leaf  and  insect, 
in  the  eternal  laws  of  nature,  and  the  fine  construction  of 
physical  man,  manifests  his  god-like  wisdom  still  more  to  the 


63 


adorer  of  his  greatness  in  the  moral  construction  of  man,  and 
the  great  ways  on  which  He  conducts  nations  and  ages 
through  apparent  disorder  to  His  own  great  ends.  Truly,  it 
is  edifying  to  see  the  development  of  the  bright  butterfly 
from  the  slow  caterpillar,  but  it  is  much  more  edifying  to  see 
the  development  of  one  single  principle  of  liberty,  or  science, 
or  social  order. 

"  I  would,  certainly,  urge  the  establishment  of  a  pro- 
fessorship for  astronomy,  and  if  possible,  an  observatory, 
though  all  this  might  not  be  immediately  useful  in  the 
popular  sense. 

"  I  would  propose  also  a  professorship  of  the  German  lan- 
guage, (which  a  theologian  and  a  physician  can  hardly  dis- 
pense with,)  for  the  very  reason  that  the  common  business  of 
life  provides  little  for  this  study,  in  comparison  with  French 
and  Spanish,  which  are  more  immediately  wanted  and  more 
in  vogue,  so  that  a  Professor  of  the  German  language  would 
have  much  fewer  students,  probably,  than  Professors  of  these 
two  other  European  languages. 

"  The  principle  of  making  a  Professor  almost  entirely  de- 
pendent upon  his  pupils,  is  objectionable  also  on  another 
account.  To  refer  a  Professor  solely  or  chiefly  to  his  popu- 
larity with  the  students  for  his  support,  would  be  dangerous 
in  all  branches,  which  are  not  of  a  very  positive  and  distinct 
nature,  as  for  instance,  anatomy.  A  Professor  of  history 
might  make  his  lectures  popular,  nay,  he  might  treat  gene- 


64 


rally  parts  of  history,  which  are  more  entertaining  than 
others;  but  whether  he  would  thus  most  contribute  to  the 
purpose  of  his  appointment  is  a  very  different  question .  The 
best  is  not  always  the  most  popular.  Indeed,  I  have  seen 
students  fill  a  lecture  room  for  the  mere  sake  of  entertain- 
ment, because  the  Professor  interspersed  his  lecture  (by  no 
means  the  best  of  the  university)  with  entertaining  anec- 
dotes. I  recollect  two  such  instances.  However,  taking  the 
principle  generally,  would  it  not  be  making  the  students  judges 
of  the  professors  ?  Competition  is  excellent,  and  the  vital 
agent  in  all  things,  where  the  people  interested  are  proper 
judges  of  the  subject  which  interests  them.  The  public,  if 
they  are  not  able  at  large  to  judge  whether  a  steamboat  is 
safe  and  good,  are  at  least  fully  competent  to  judge  whether 
it  is  comfortable,  and  to  collect  such  information  respecting 
the  captain,  machinery,  &c.  as  will  enable  them  to  form  an 
opinion  coming  pretty  near  to  the  truth.  At  all  events,  here 
are  men  judging  of  men  and  things;  but  what  would  be  the 
case  in  universities  established  on  that  principle  ?  youths 
would  judge  of  men,  and  in  regard  to  that  very  matter,  which 
they  have  still  to  learn;  in  which  they,  therefore,  are  incom- 
petent, else,  they  would  not  need  the  instruction.  I  do  not 
deny,  indeed,  that  the  intense  study  found  in  the  German 
universities  is  owing  in  a  great  measure  to  the  liberty  of 
choice  left  to  the  students,  because  liberty  produces  activity; 
but  I  do  deny  that  it  would  be  safe,  to  let  the  support  of  the 
Professor  depend  upon  the  judgment  of  the  students.  Have 
the  greater  men  always  been  the  most  popular  among  the 
students?  By  no  means. 


65 


"Yet  I  believe  that,  generally  speaking,  it  is  better  for  Profes- 
sors and  students,  to  have  fees  paid  for  the  lectures,  for  various 
reasons,  although  it  would  be  unsafe  to  let  Professors  be  solely 
or  chiefly  depending  upon  them,  for  it  would  be  unsafe  to 
settle  such  annuities  upon  persons,  intended  to  live  for  science, 
or  to  guarantee  them,  forever,  an  easy  life.  It  has  besides 
been  found  that ,  generally,  students  attend  those  lectures  more 
carefully  for  which  they  pay.  With  the  different  branches  of 
instruction,  the  principle  upon  which  professorships  are  to  be 
established,  ought  to  vary.  In  a  city,  in  which  many  stu- 
dents of  medicine  always  will  be  assembled,  it  may  be  safe, 
to  let  the  Professor  greatly  depend  upon  the  fees  of  the  stu- 
dents, whilst  a  Professor  of  Hebrew  ought  to  be  provided  for 
in  such  a  way,  that  he  may  follow  the  difficult  study  of 
oriental  languages  without  the  direct  care  for  his  support,  in 
case  the  number  of  students  would  be  too  small  for  this  pur- 
pose, as  it  generally  will  prove. 

"  What,  however,  has  given  such  excellence  to  the  German 
Universities?  What  maintains  such  a  truly  scientific  spirit 
among  their  Professors?  I  answer — the  scientific  spirit  of 
the  whole  nation;  a  consequence  of  its  entire  want  of  a  pub- 
lic political  life,  the  destruction  of  its  political  existence  as  a 
nation  for  centuries,  and  the  liberty  of  thinking  produced  by 
the  reformation;  in  one  word,  it  is  a  consequence  of  the  fact, 
that  the  German's  life  is  entirely  within  him;  a  good,  bought 
dearly  enough.  It  seems  to  me,  that  were  you  even  to  give 
to  a  German  a  settled  annuity,  as  those  of  the  English 

fellows,  he  would  nevertheless  be  found  active  and  ambitious 

9 


66 


in  the  cause  of  science;  because  almost  the  only  field  of  am- 
bition of  a  German,  I  mean  that  ambition  which  looks  beyond 
the  life  of  the  individual  and  seeks  for  another  distinction 
than  that  of  titles  and  wealth,  is  science. 

"  It  has  been  often  observed,  and  in  my  opinion,  justly, 
that  German  education  directs  the  pupil  much  more  to  self- 
studying,  than  those  systems  and  plans  pursued  in  English 
schools  and  universities,  and  in  those  of  America  modelled 
after  the  same.  It  is  not  the  place  here  to  inquire  into  the 
system  of  education  followed  in  our  colleges,  and  how  far  it 
is  adapted  rather  to  lead  the  student  to  study  for  himself 
and  to  develop  his  powers  in  general,  than  to  learn  certain 
prescribed  courses  by  heart ;  but  it  seems  to  me  that  in  estab- 
lishing a  new  University,  which  aims  at  teaching  the  higher 
branches,  and  therefore  generally  would  not  have  very  young 
persons  among  its  students,  a  system  somewhat  similar  to  that 
of  the  German  universities  ought  to  be  followed;  I  mean, 
the  student  ought  to  be  left  more  at  liberty,  and  time  ought 
not  be  wasted  in  recitations.  Certainly  I  would  not  advise 
the  following  entirely  the  German  system,  which  leaves  the 
student  totally  without  control  in  respect  to  his  studies,  no 
examinations  ever  taking  place;  but  it  must  be  remembered 
how  severe  in  most  States,  particularly  in  Prussia — how  very 
severe  are  those  examinations  established  by  government, 
without  which  no  person  can  begin  to  practice  medicine,  law, 
or  can  become  ministers,  or  teachers  at  a  gymnasium,  or 
receive  an  employment  in  the  administrative  branch.  As 
government  here  does  not  ordain  such  examinations,  it  would 


67 


be  best  perhaps  to  adopt  somewhat  the  French  system,  viz :  to 
have  semi-annual  examinations,  real,  thorough  examinations, 
connected  with  prizes,  etc.  as  in  the  Ecole  Polytechnique. 
In  Germany,  Professors  often  appoint  hours,  in  which  they 
receive  questions  from  their  pupils  respecting  the  lectures 
they  have  heard  from  him,  and  talk  over  the  different 
subjects. 

"  Gymnastics,  of  great  importance  in  all  countries,  are 
peculiarly  so  in  this,  as  people  seem  to  have,  probably  in 
consequence  of  the  climate,  an  indisposition  for  exercise, 
which  is  one  of  the  causes  of  the  frequent  complaints  of  the 
viscera.  In  Germany  fencing  masters  are  always  connected 
with  the  university,  and  generally,  for  instance  in  Berlin,  a 
large  hall  in  the  university  building,  is  granted  for  this  pur- 
pose. In  my  opinion  this  ought  to  be  always  done.  Such 
a  hall  could  be  used  for  fencing,  and  at  the  same  time  during 
winter,  for  all  other  kinds  of  gymnastics,  which  it  is  of  the 
highest  importance  to  have  taught  regularly  and  systema- 
tically. In  Germany  a  riding  school  also  is  generally  con- 
nected with  a  university;  but  this  would  be  probably  too 
expensive  here.  A  swimming  school  however  ought  not 
to  be  omitted;  it  is  so  easily  established,  and  of  so  vital 
an  importance.  How  many  lives  might  be  saved  by  offer- 
ing thus  to  a  number  of  assembled  youths,  an  opportunity 
to  learn  this  art,  so  beneficial,  moreover,  to  the  health,  par- 
ticularly in  a  changeable  climate,  as  that  in  which  we  live. 
Swimming,  at  the  same  time,  is  practised  at  a  season  when 
the  heat  of  summer  prohibits  almost  all  other  gymnastic 


68 


exercises.  Such  swimming  schools  would  soon  become  a 
model  for  many  in  the  whole  country,  and  prove  a  true  bene- 
fit to  it.  Probably  the  University  would  not  be  obliged,  in 
regard  to  gymnastics,  to  do  much  more  than  to  appoint  com- 
petent persons  to  teach  them,  and  others  to  superintend  the 
same;  few  of  the  German  universities  give  salaries  to  the 
fencing  masters,  but  only  designate  them  by  the  appointm  ent , 
as  competent  persons.  Some  support,  however,  would  most 
probably  be  required  for  the  other  branches  of  gymnastics,  as 
a  building  and  apparatus.  I  have  always  found  that  it  is 
very  important  to  teach  the  different  kinds  of  gymnastics  in 
a  regular  succession,  not  only  in  regard  to  health,  but  also  to 
the  interest  which  must  be  maintained  for  the  various  ex- 
ercises. 

"  If  Machiavelli  says,  that  after  him  who  establishes  true 
religion,  he  is  the  greatest  benefactor  who  establishes  civil 
order:  I  would  add  that,  after  these  two,  he  is  the  greatest 
benefactor  of  his  nation,  who  raises  the  standard  in  what- 
ever is  good,  and  I  should  consider  it  one  of  the  fairest  days 
of  my  life,  if  I  could  contribute,  even  the  smallest  part,  to 
raise  the  standard  of  science  and  education  in  this  happy 
country,  in  the  establishment  of  the  projected  university." 

This  communication  was  also  of  deep  interest 
to  the  Convention,  and  was  referred  to  the  com- 
mittee of  arrangements. 

Theo.  D.  Woolsey,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  gave 


69 

an  account  of  the  French  colleges, — their  system 
of  instruction  and  discipline,  as  follows: 

"  As  it  does  not  enter  into  my  plan,  to  describe  the  whole 
system  of  instruction  in  France,  I  shall  pass  over  the  lowest 
and  the  highest  places  of  education  entirely.  It  may  not, 
however,  be  amiss  to  remark,  that  the  whole  system  of  schools 
and  colleges,  for  classical  and  professional  learning,  is  called 
the  universite.  This  system  includes.  1.  The  Faculties 
of  theology,  law,  medicine,  science,  and  letters,  which  exist, 
either  together,  as  at  Paris,  or  separately,  some  one  or  more  in 
many  of  the  large  provincial  towns.  2.  In  certain  extraor- 
dinary institutions,  such  as  the  college  of  France  at  Paris, 
where  twenty-one  courses  of  gratuitous  lectures  are  given, 
the  school  of  Nises,  the  Polytechnic  school,  &c.  3.  In  colleges. 
4.  In  boarding  schools,  and  classical  schools,  called  institutions 
and  pensions,  all  of  which  are  subjected  to  a  certain  control, 
and  a  permission  is  necessary,  I  believe,  to  set  them  up.  5.  In 
primary  schools.  This  system  is  placed  under  the  direction 
of  the  ministers  of  the  interior,  and  a  council  of  nine,  called 
the '  council  royal  de  l'instruction  publique,'  under  this  council 
is  a  body  called  inspectors  general  of  study.  The  acting 
head  of  the  collegiate  system,  and  I  believe  of  the  whole 
system  of  education,  is  called  the  grand  master.  What  his 
relations  to  the  minister  of  the  interior,  and  the  council  of 
instruction  are,  I  cannot  tell,  but  his  powers  are  very  great, 
both  in  fixing  the  plan  of  studies  in  the  colleges,  and  in  con- 
trolling the  professors.    When  I  was  in  Paris,  I  saw  a  gen- 


70 


tleman,  a  Professor  in  the  college  Commercial,  of  Falaise  in 
Normandy,  who  had  offended  a  Jesuit,  the  head  of  public  in- 
struction there,  by  his  liberal  sentiments,  and  was  deprived  of 
his  place  under  pretext  of  incompetency.  He  came  to  Paris 
to  appeal  to  the  grand  master,  at  that  time  Freyssinous,  Bishop 
of  Hermopolis  and  almoner  of  the  King.  Freyssinous,  as  I 
understood,  attended  to  the  subject  with  full  power  of  making  a 
final  decision,  and  as  might  be  expected  from  his  political 
character,  confirmed  the  decision  of  the  provincial  authority. 

"  The  colleges  of  France  are  divided  into  colleges  com- 
munaux  and  royaux,  the  first  of  which  are  of  a  lower  grade 
than  the  second,  and  students  go  from  one  to  the  other. 
They  do  not  exist  in  Paris.  The  number  of  colleges  in  the 
kingdom  is  given  in  detail,  I  believe,  in  the  royal  Almanach, 
but  I  am  not  able  to  state  it  at  this  moment.  It  was  made 
equal  under  Bonaparte  to  that  of  the  royal  courts,  which 
were,  in  all,  about  twenty-five.  The  colleges  were  then 
called  lycees.  Since  the  restoration  their  number  must  have 
increased.  The  royal  colleges  of  Paris,  however,  are  five  in 
number,  Henry  IV.  called  under  Bonaparte,  lycee  Napoleon, 
Louis  le  Grand,  then  called  lycee  Imperiale,  St.  Louis, 
Bourbon,  then  called  lycee  Bonaparte,  and  Charlemagne. 
Besides  these,  there  are  two  institutions  which  have  in  some 
degree  the  rank  of  colleges,  and  contend  for  the  prizes  with 
the  others,  as  I  shall  describe  hereafter.  Their  Professors, 
however,  have  not  any  connection  that  I  know  of  with  the 
government,  being  I  believe  appointed  and  supported  by  the 


71 


institutions  themselves,  and  the  charity  scholars  are  not  placed 
there.*  These  two  institutions  are  the  colleges  of  St.  Barbe 
and  Stanislas,  both  of  them  under  the  control  of  priests, 
and  I  believe  of  Jesuits.  They  were  a  short  time  since  only 
boarding  schools,  and  were  favored  by  the  government  on 
account  of  the  character  of  their  officers. 

"  In  the  colleges  of  Paris,  the  students  are  divided  into 
internes  and  externes.  The  former  are  those  boarding  and 
studying  in  the  colleges :  the  latter  are  such  as  are  placed  in 
pensions  or  boarding  schools,  so  as  at  the  same  time,  to  study 
under  the  teachers  of  such  schools,  and  to  recite  in  the 
colleges.  A  peculiar  class  of  externes,  called  externes  libres, 
live  with  a  friend,  or  at  home,  instead  of  in  the  institution. 
Two  of  the  colleges,  those  of  Bourbon  and  Charlemagne, 
admit  only  externes,  or  scholars  not  boarded. 

"The  number  of  eleves  in  the  Colleges  of  Paris  during 
1827,  was  about  5000,  and  in  one  of  them,  Henri  4th,  about 
800.  Of  these  a  very  considerable  number  came  from  the 
country,  as  the  Colleges  of  Paris  have  the  reputation  of  being 
the  best  in  the  kingdom. 

"  The  Classes  are  nine  in  number,  that  is  to  say,  the 
lowest  is  called  the  huitieme,  the  next  the  Septieme,  and  so 

In  all  the  royal  colleges  50  eleves,  often  the  sons  of  military 
officers,  are  supported  in  whole,  two-thirds,  or  half,  supported,  accord- 
ing to  a  certain  ration  by  the  government.  In  the  time  of  Bonaparte 
the  number  of  charity  scholars  was  150  to  each  college. 


72 


upward.  The  Premiere  is  usually  called  the  class  of  rhe- 
torique,  and  the  one  above  it,  the  class  of  philosophy.  The 
small  boys  in  the  8th  and  7th  do  not  contend  for  prizes, 
and  possibly  may  be  peculiar  to  the  College  Henry  IV. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  enter  any  class  in  particular;  nay, 
those  of  Rhetorique  or  Philosophe  may  be  entered  at  once, 
or  a  boy  may  skip  from  the  6th  to  the  4th,  if  competent 
to  keep  up  with  the  class.  In  order  to  get  a  degree  of  *bachelier 
es  sciences, '  however,  it  is  necessary  to  have  passed  through  the 
class  of  philosophy,  or  to  have  pursued  studies  equivalent 
with  the  proper  certificates,  and  to  undergo  an  examina- 
tion, which  consists  chiefly  if  not  entirely  in  answering  three 
questions,  drawn  by  lot  from  a  box.  These,  if  answered  very 
or  tolerably  well,  entitle  to  a  degree,  but  if  answered  ill,  or  if 
two  are  answered  tolerably  well  and  one  ill,  cause  the  rejec- 
tion of  the  candidate.  This  rejection  often  happens,  but  the 
disappointed  candidate  may  apply  again  the  next  year. 
Those  who  receive  their  degrees  at  once,  pay  60  francs: 
those  who  are  thus  made  to  wait,  20.  This  degree  is  neces- 
sary for  all  French  subjects,  I  believe,  who  wish  to  attend 
the  lectures  in  law  or  medicine,  or  who  seek  for  degrees  in 
those  professions,  or  even  wish  to  practice  in  them. 

"  But  to  return  to  the  classes  in  the  colleges;  the  lowest 
may  be  entered  with  no  classical  knowledge,  and  without 
examination.  I  believe  the  age  for  this  class  is  about  10,  but 
I  have  not  heard  that  any  positive  regulations  respecting  age 
are  adopted. 


73 


"  For  the  classes  below  that  of  Rhetorique,  the  mode  of 
instruction  and  management  is  nearly  the  same  throughout. 
Each  class  forms  two  divisions  and  is  placed  under  two  Pro- 
fessors, or  a  Professor  and  an  adjunct,  who  has  a  smaller 
salary  than  the  other  and  can  be  removed  from  one  class  to 
another,  while  the  professor  has  in  ordinary  cases  only  the 
charge  of  a  particular  class.  There  are  two  periods  of  reciting 
to  the  Professor  during  the  day :  at  8  and  at  2.  The  study 
of  Greek  is  commenced  by  boys  about  twelve  years  old. 
They  study  with  the  languages,  geography  and  history. 
The  study  of  history  is  continued  in  the  5th,  4th  and  3d; 
that  of  natural  history  is  pursued  in  the  3d;  those  of  arith- 
metic and  geometry  begun  in  the  second  and  continued  in 
that  of  Rhetorique.  This  last  part  of  the  plan  is  very  sur- 
prising, particularly  in  France,  where  the  sciences  are  pushed 
with  the  greatest  ardor;  I  have  seen  boys  of  about  fourteen 
years  old  who  knew  nothing  of  arithmetic. 

"  The  punishments  for  neglecting  a  duty  or  for  speaking 
in  recitation  time,  are  something  like  those  which  still  exist  in 
the  English  universities.  They  are  such  as  to  write  the 
lesson  ten  or  twelve  times  over,  to  write  eight  hundred  verses 
of  Virgil  and  the  like — in  the  lower  classes  to  remain  upon 
one's  knees  for  some  time.  For  crimes  committed  by  the  in- 
ternes the  punishment  is,  to  be  kept  in  durance  during  seve- 
ral hours,  or  in  more  aggravated  cases  to  be  confined  in  a 
dungeon  and  fed  on  dry  bread  and  water.    A  boy  hung 

himself  in  1824,  5.  while  subjected  to  these  punishments. 

10 


74 


' '  I  have  already  adverted  to  the  powers  of  the  Grand  Master. 
This  is  the  place  to  mention  that  he  gives  every  year  a  kind 
of  agenda  to  the  Professors  in  all  the  Royal  Colleges,  contain- 
ing such  a  plan  of  study  and  such  changes  in  the  previous 
plan  as  he  sees  fit.  Thus  the  plan  is  the  same  for  all  the 
Royal  Colleges  throughout  the  kingdom,  at  least  it  should  be 
so,  but  the  provincial  colleges  being  not  so  well  officered  as 
those  of  Paris  and  not  having  the  same  spirit  of  competition 
to  animate  them,  and  especially  not  having  very  good  board- 
ing schools  to  draw  their  scholars  from,  do  not  come  up  to  the 
standard  of  those  in  Paris. 

"  The  Professors  in  Paris  have  a  traitement  or  a  salary  of 
3000  francs  and  upwards;  an  Agrege  of  2000  and  less. 
The  Professors  have  also  a  fluctuating  salary  depending  on 
the  number  either  of  scholars  or  of  externes  in  their  College. 
Both  sources  cannot  make  much  more  than  5000  francs  for 
the  Professors  of  the  higher  classes.  Some  of  the  Agreges 
have  almost  nothing.  These  salaries  appear  small  for  such 
a  place  as  Paris,  but  with  French  economy  they  are  about 
sufficient  for  the  maintenance  of  a  family  in  that  part  of  the 
city  where  nearly  all  the  colleges  are  situated. 

"  The  price  of  education  for  an  externe  is  126  francs  the 
year  in  the  college  of  Henri  4th;  and  the  same  I  believe  in 
the  others. 

"  The  internes,  or  those  students  who  are  lodged  and  board- 
ed in  the  colleges,  are  kept  very  strictly.    They  rise  for 


75 


prayers  at  about  the  same  time  as  in  our  colleges.  They  are 
not  allowed  under  a  severe  penalty  to  be  absent  from  the  col- 
lege beyond  a  certain  time  of  the  evening,  and  they  must  be 
then  with  a  responsible  person.  They  sleep  in  dormitories 
containing  ten,  twenty,  or  forty  beds,  and  responsible  persons 
keep  guard  over  their  conduct  during  the  night.  When 
assembled  at  their  meals,  which  are  sufficiently  plain,  some 
book,  generally  of  piety,  is  read.  When  they  go  out  to  walk 
or  to  the  baths,  it  is  under  the  control  of  their  maitre  d 'etudes 
and  in  a  body.  Their  clothes  are  all  washed  and  taken 
care  of  in  common.  Sometimes  there  occur  barrings-out, 
in  these  little  societies,  which  are  curiously  punished.  When 
a  class  have  entrenched  themselves  in  a  recitation  room, 
determined  to  give  no  admittance  to  the  Professor,  he 
sends  for  a  corps  of  sapeurs  and  pompeurs,  a  military  body 
answering  to  our  firemen,  who  plant  their  fire  engine  at  a 
window  and  drown  the  poor  boys  into  submission  without 
much  difficulty.  The  eleves  are  sometimes,  but  not  often  sent 
away  from  the  colleges  for  crimes,  e.  g.  for  reading  infidel 
books,  which  is  made  a  crime  of  the  first  order. 

"  Nothing  now  remains,  but  to  describe  the  annual  con- 
course or  distribution  of  prizes,  which  takes  place  at  the  mid- 
dle of  August,  after  which  time  the  colleges  close,  for  six 
weeks.  The  colleges  admitted  to  this  concourse,  are  the 
five  royal  and  two  private  ones  of  Paris  already  mentioned, 
and  that  of  Versailles.  A  certain  number  of  the  most  promi- 
nent eleves  of  a  particular  class  in  each  of  the  colleges,  are 
designated  by  the  Professors  to  compose  for  the  concourse, 


76 


These  compositions,  which  have  the  same  name  with  the 
weekly  devoirs  of  the  students,  are  given  to  judges,  and  every 
precaution  is  taken  that  they  shall  be  impartial; — the  meet 
ing  is  held  in  the  large  hall  of  the  Sorbonne.  The  floor  of 
the  hall  is  occupied  by  the  university  body,  consisting  of 
the  Professors  of  the  colleges,  and  the  Professors  of  the  se- 
veral faculties  in  their  different  robes,  and  headed  by  their 
Deans,  together  with  the  students  to  be  crowned .  First  there 
is  an  oration  in  Latin  from  a  Professor,  then  a  speech  from 
the  Grand  Master,  which  consists  chiefly  of  advice  to  the 
students,  and  of  a  statement  of  his  and  the  ministers  exer- 
tions to  promote  the  good  of  the  colleges,  and  the  comfort  of 
the  Professors.  Then  the  prizes  are  read  off,  beginning 
with  the  class  of  philosophy,  each  eleve  being  called  by  name, 
and  the  college  being  named  also  to  which  he  belongs.  Up- 
on this  a  most  violent  clapping  and  shouting  takes  place  on 
the  part  of  the  eleves  and  partizans  of  the  college,  that  hap- 
pen to  be  named,  and  this  is  kept  up  throughout.  There  is 
much  that  is  imposing  in  this  ceremony :  the  papers  publish 
the  successful  concurrents,  and  carry  their  names  through 
France;  and  a  book  is  published  by  the  university,  contain- 
ing their  names  also,  and  the  prizes  gained.  This  book  I 
obtained  through  a  friend,  it  being  not  exposed  for  sale.  The 
day  succeeding  this  concours  general,  prizes  are  awarded 
by  the  several  colleges  to  their  own  students,  and  another 
prize  is  given  in  April  of  each  year,  to  such  as  may  have  had 
the  most  honorable  places  at  the  compositions,  the  greatest 
number  of  times. 


77 


"  The  only  marked  peculiarity  of  the  French  system  as 
practised  in  the  colleges  of  Paris,  is  the  union  of  the  school  and 
college  system  which  takes  place.  I  mean  the  system  of 
having  a  Professor  to  recite  to,  and  a  college  body  to  be  a 
member  of;  and  at  the  same  time,  a  person  to  control  their 
studies,  who  is  the  maitre  d'etvdes  for  those  living  in  the 
college,  and  the  instructeur  or  head  of  the  boarding  school  t 
for  those  called  extemes.  I  could  not  perceive  that  there  was 
any  great  advantage  in  this :  the  small  boys  may  have  needed 
to  be  managed  according  to  the  school  system,  and  the  larger 
ones,  to  whom  other  and  more  immediate  motives  are  pre- 
sented in  their  course  of  studies,  may  have  needed  another. 
Nor  could  I  find  that  the  results  of  the  French  system  were 
very  great.  The  eleves  certainly  acquire  a  considerable 
facility  in  writing  Latin,  both  prose  and  poetry;  and  this,  as 
familiarizing  the  memory  and  the  understanding  to  the  forms 
of  speech  of  a  language,  is  beyond  doubt  as  important  a  part 
of  the  exercises  in  studying  a  language  as  any  other;  but 
beyond  that  I  did  not  see  that  they  were  either  very  tho- 
roughly or  very  extensively  educated.  To  me  it  appeared  as 
a  very  great  defect  to  postpone  teaching  the  science  of  num  - 
bers  and  quantities,  until  the  boy  was  about  15  or  16  years 
old.  So  entirely  is  this  the  case,  that  I  knew  a  boy  who  was 
about  14  years  old  and  had  never  studied  arithmetic  at  all. 
In  Greek  and  in  geography,  if  I  may  trust  to  personal  ob- 
servations, they  appear  also  to  be  far  below  the  mark  which 
they  ought  to  have  attained  long  ago.  But  it  is  not  always 
safe  to  trust  to  observations  derived  from  a  few  cases,  and  I 
therefore  will  not  pronounce  this  with  confidence." 


78 

Mr.  Wm.  C.  Woodbridge  addressed  the  meet- 
ing, and  stated  that, 

"  In  all  comparisons  of  European  institutions  with  our  own, 
it  is  important  to  remember,  that  in  Europe,  the  line  is  dis- 
tinctly drawn  between  the  students  of  different  ages,  and  in 
different  periods  of  advancement.  In  our  institutions,  those  of 
all  ages  are  mingled.  There,  there  are  schools  adapted  to 
every  age.  The  Latin  schools  and  the  gymnasia  take  the 
place  of  our  colleges,  and  young  men  do  not  appear  in  the  uni- 
versity, until  the  age  of  eighteen.  During  the  earlier  periods, 
they  are  placed  under  constant  inspection,  and  parental 
restraints.  In  the  university,  they  are  expected  to  govern 
themselves  in  a  great  measure.  The  difficulty  of  govern- 
ment in  our  colleges,  arises  from  attempting  to  educate  men 
and  boys  in  the  same  establishment.  The  same  regulations, 
the  same  inspection,  the  same  system  of  discipline,  cannot  be 
applied  to  both.  It  will  be  too  relaxed  for  the  one  class,  or 
too  restricted  for  the  other;  and  distinctions  would  be  invi- 
dious. There  seems  to  be  no  mode  of  obviating  the  evil,  but 
to  establish  some  line  of  separation.  Let  our  colleges  gra- 
dually raise  their  requisitions  until  they  shall  receive  only 
young  men,  and  let  them  be  treated  accordingly.  Let  them 
provide  gymnasia  and  higher  schools,  where  younger  pupils 
shall  be  under  constant  parental  care  and  inspection  at  all 
hours,  and  not  thrown  into  the  midst  of  the  temptations  and 
facilities  for  evil,  which  our  colleges  present,  while  neither 
reason  nor  experience  are  sufficiently  matured  to  protect 
them." 


79 

Mr.  Hasler  offered  a  few  remarks  on  the  appoint- 
ment of  Professors — and  was  followed  by  Profes 
sor  Silliman,  who  stated  that, 

"The  faculty  of  Yale  College  have  no  voice  in  the  ap- 
pointment of  Professors,  by  law — as  the  appointments  are 
made  by  the  board  of  Trustees  called  the  "President  and 
Fellows" — that  in  fact  however  their  opinions  and  wishes  are 
regarded,  and  it  is  very  rare  that  an  appointment  is  made 
except  in  accordance  with  them : — that  the  President  of  the 
College  being  the  presiding  officer  both  in  the  corporation 
and  in  the  faculty,  the  wishes  of  the  latter  readily  find, 
through  him,  a  passage  to  the  former,  and  a  nomination  by 
the  faculty,  or  at  least  an  expression  of  their  views  is  always 
expected;  that  the  faculty  ought  always  to  be  men  in  whose 
heads  and  hearts  unlimited  confidence  can  be  reposed,  and 
that  this  being  the  fact,  a  board  of  trustees  could  rarely  be 
safe  in  disregarding  their  suggestions, — that  there  is  in  Yale 
College,  besides  the  corporation,  a  "Prudential  Committee," 
consisting  of  the  President  and  three  other  gentlemen,  mem- 
bers of  the  corporation,  of  whom  one  is  regularly  the  Gover- 
nor or  Lieut.  Governor  of  the  state, — who  meet  at  least  four 
times  in  a  year  and  deliberately  settle  the  accounts,  and  in 
conjunction  with  the  faculty  devise  the  various  plans,  and 
mature  the  reports  which  are  to  be  made  to  the  corporation. 
The  latter  board  generally  sit  but  once  in  a  year,  and  on 
common  occasions  finish  their  business  in  one  day :  this  they 
are  enabled  to  do,  because  the  business  is  prepared  and  diges- 
ted by  the  Prudential  Committee  and  the  faculty — and 


80 


although  the  corporation  is  an  independent  body,  it  rarely 
acts  in  important  cases,  without  the  concurrence  of  both  the 
faculty  and  the  Prudential  Committee — and  as  great  con- 
fidence always  prevails,  between  these  respective  bodies,  the 
business  of  the  institution  proceeds  harmoniously." 

Mr.  Jared  Sparks  presented  a  few  observations, 
and  alluded  to  the  organization  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity.    He  stated, 

"That  the  organization  of  Harvard  College  is  derived 
from  a  charter  early  received,  and  from  subsequent  acts  of 
the  Legislature,  which  has  from  time  to  time  contributed 
liberally  to  the  funds  of  the  institution.  By  the  scheme  of 
organization,  the  college  is  under  the  supervision  and  control 
of  two  separate  Boards,  called  the  Corporation,  and  the  Board 
of  Overseers,  deriving  their  powers  from  the  legislative  acts  of 
the  commonwealth. 

"The  corporation  is  composed  of  seven  persons,  of  whom 
the  President  of  the  college  is  one  by  virtue  of  his  office. 
The  other  six  are  chosen  from  the  community  at  large.  Va- 
cancies are  filled  by  the  members  in  office,  who  thus  have  the 
power  of  perpetuating  their  own  number.  To  this  body 
the  general  management  of  the  college  affairs  is  entrusted; 
they  appoint  the  professors,  tutors,  instructers  and  all  other 
officers;  they  prescribe  the  laws  and  regulations  for  its  inter- 
nal government,  both  in  reference  to  discipl  ine  and  instruction ; 
they  assign  the  duties  and  compensation  of  the  officers,  and 


81 

have  the  entire  control  of  the  funds  and  revenues  of  the 
institution. 

"The  Board  of  overseers  is  of  a  more  popular  character.  It 
consists  of  the  Governor  and  Lieut.  Governor  of  the  State,  the 
members  of  the  council  and  of  the  senate,  the  speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  the  President  of  the  college 
ex-officio;  and  also  of  fifteen  laymen  and  fifteen  clergymen, 
who  are  elected  as  vacancies  occur  by  the  whole  Board. 
Hence  in  this  body  there  are  somewhat  over  fifty  members, 
who  are  chosen  annually  by  the  people.  The  other  thirty 
retain  their  places  for  life.  The  Board  of  overseers  has  a 
controlling  power  over  all  the  acts  of  the  corporation;  and, 
indeed,  its  sittings  seems  to  be  for  little  other  purpose,  than  to 
hear  the  reports  of  that  body,  and  sanction  its  proceedings, 
any  or  all  of  which,  they  may,  if  they  please,  disapprove  or 
annul.  They  usually  meet  in  the  Senate  Chamber  during 
the  sittings  of  the  Legislature. 

"In  addition  to  these  two  bodies,  there  is  another,  called 
the  immediate  government  or  faculty  of  the  college.  This 
is  constituted  of  the  President,  Professors,  and  Tutors,  who 
reside  at  the  colleges,  and  who  are  engaged  in  the  active 
duties  of  governing  and  teaching.  They  have  charge  of 
all  the  internal  regulations,  and  execute  the  laws  prescribed 
by  the  corporation,  and  approved  by  the  overseers,  as  well  in 
regard  to  order  and  discipline,  as  to  the  general  plan  and  par- 
ticular details  of  instruction. 

11 


82 


"There  are,  moreover,  the  three  schools  of  Theology,  Law, 
and  Medicine,  attached  to  the  college,  each  of  which  has  its 
separate  faculty  of  Professors,  who  superintend  and  regulate 
the  immediate  concerns  of  their  respective  departments,  under 
the  control  of  the  corporation  and  overseers.  The  President 
of  the  college  is  at  the  same  time  President  of  the  corpora- 
tion, the  immediate  government,  and  of  the  three  faculties  of 
Theology,  Law,  and  Medicine,  thus  presenting  the  peculiar 
circumstance  of  a  layman  presiding  over  a  body  of  Theological 
Professors,  or  of  a  clergyman  at  the  head  of  the  faculties  of 
law  or  medicine,  as  the  case  may  be.  The  Governor  of  the 
State  presides  at  the  meetings  of  the  overseers. 

"The  Theological  school  has,  besides,  a  body  of  Direc- 
tors, who  act  in  some  manner  distinct  from  the  corporation, 
but  on  all  important  points,  subject  to  the  revision  of  that 
body,  and  consequently  of  the  overseers. 

"As  to  the  topic  now  before  the  convention,  respecting  the 
mode  of  choosing  Professors,  they  are  all  chosen  at  Harvard 
College  in  the  first  instance  by  the  corporation,  or  rather 
nominated  by  that  body  for  the  approval  or  rejection  of  the 
overseers.  But  as  a  case  has  rarely,  if  ever  been  known,  in 
which  such  a  nomination  has  been  rejected  by  the  overseers, 
the  election  of  all  the  Professors  and  immediate  officers  may  be 
said  to  pertain  in  practice  to  the  corporation  alone.  It  is 
probable,  however,  that  this  is  seldom  done  without  consulting 
the  members  of  the  faculty  into  which  a  Professor  is  to  be 


83 


chosen.  No  good  policy  would  introduce  an  efficient  mem- 
ber into  a  small  body,  where  such  a  step  would  be  likely  to 
endanger  harmony  of  feeling  and  action.  For  this  reason, 
it  may  be  well  worthy  of  consideration,  whether,  in  the 
scheme  of  a  new  constitution,  it  is  not  better  to  provide  for 
the  nomination  of  a  Professor  by  the  members  of  the  faculty, 
with  whom  he  is  to  be  associated.  Such  a  body  would  be  as 
capable  as  any  other,  to  say  the  least,  of  judging  in  regard  to 
the  requisite  qualifications  of  a  candidate,  and  much  more 
capable  of  deciding  whether  his  personal  qualities,  traits  of 
character,  and  habits  of  thinking,  would  make  him  accepta- 
ble in  their  community.  It  seems  evident,  therefore,  that 
something  is  lost,  and  nothing  gained  by  referring  this  nomi- 
nation to  another  body  of  men,  who  have  no  interests  in  com- 
mon with  the  party  chiefly  concerned.  It  is  enough  that  the 
electing,  or  sanctioning  power,  dwells  in  a  separate  tribunal  .*' 

President  Bates  having  left  the  chair,  Mr.  Gal- 
latin presided. — Dr.  Bates  addressed  the  meet- 
ing. He  stated  that  the  appointing  power  was 
generally  vested  in  a  Board  of  Trustees — that 
experience  had  proved  the  wisdom  of  consulting 
the  faculty  on  any  contemplated  appointment  of  a 
Professor,  and  that,  in  fact,  though  not  professedly 
yet  in  effect,  Professors  are  appointed  by  the  in- 
structers  or  faculty — and  thus  by  securing  their 
good  will  toward  the  new  incumbent,  unity  was 
enforced. 


84 

Dr.  Bates  having  resumed  the  chair,  Mr.  Kea- 
ting, of  Philadelphia,  addressed  the  convention — 
he  observed, 

"That  the  information  which  had  been  presented  to  the 
meeting  by  the  experienced  gentlemen  who  had  preceded  him, 
fully  proved  the  delicacy  and  difficulty  of  this  task, — where 
objections  so  powerful,  existed  against  all  modes  hitherto  adopt 
ed,  it  might  perhaps  be  deemed  excusable  in  him  to  throw  out 
some  ideas  on  a  new  mode  of  appointment,  which  had  lately 
suggested  itself  to  his  mind.  He  thought  it  was  to  a  certain 
extent,  new  and  untried;  he  had  not  himself  had  it  long  un- 
der consideration,  but  he  offered  it  that  it  should  receive  that 
attention  to  which  others  might  think  it  entitled .  He  believ- 
ed that  many  of  the  objections  to  elections  would  be  removed, 
if  the  nomination  of  candidates  were  entrusted  to  a  different 
body  from  that  which  had  the  power  to  elect,  as  if  for  instance, 
the  faculty  had  the  right  to  nominate  a  certain  number,  say 
three  candidates,  to  fill  a  vacancy,  and  it  was  made  the  right 
and  duty  of  the  trustees  to  elect  one  of  the  three.  The  purity  of 
elections  would,  he  thought,  be  the  greater  where  the  electing 
body  was  the  larger — while  in  order  to  ensure  a  sufficient  con- 
densation of  opinions,  it  might  be  well  that  the  nominating 
body  be  small.  This  would  also  offer  the  advantage  of  ena- 
bling the  abilities  and  claims  of  the  respective  candidates  to 
be  freely  canvassed,  and  it  would  remove  the  objections  to  the 
close  borough  system,  which  had  been  so  strongly,  and  he 
thought,  so  justiy  urged,  against  one  of  the  modes  of  election. 
Perhaps  on  further  consideration,  it  might  be  deemed  advisa- 


85 


ble  to  extend  the  privilege  of  election  to  a  large  number. — 
He  was  not  prepared  to  say  that  it  was,  yet  he  felt  some  dis- 
position to  adopt  the  idea  of  placing  the  nomination  of  candi- 
dates in  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  committing  the  election 
to  the  alumni  at  large.  The  latter  formed  a  large  body  of 
intelligent  men,  dispersed  throughout  the  country,  free  from 
local,  sectional,  or  sectarian  principles,  who  would  feel  a  deep 
interest  in  the  honor  of  their  Alma  Mater,  and  a  warm  desire 
to  add  to  its  fame  by  strengthening  its  faculty  at  every  succeed- 
ing vacancy. — He  was  aware  of  the  objections  which  would 
be  made  to  any  plan  of  innovation — but  with  due  deference 
he  would  submit  his  idea  on  this  delicate  subject,  which  was, 
that  where  a  system  worked  well,  and  no  objections  could  be 
brought  against  it,  it  was  wise  to  'let  well  enough  alone,'  but 
whereas  in  the  present  instance  strong  objections  were  urged 
and  admitted  on  all  sides,  a  cautious  attempt  at  devising  a 
new  method  was  admissable ,  and  should  be  encouraged .  But 
the  plan  was  not  perhaps  as  new  as  some  might  think  it.  In 
some  of  the  universities  abroad,  even  the  under-graduates  had 
a  vote  in  the  election  of  the  highest  officer  or  chancellor  of 
the  university .  The  meeting  he  addressed  must  certainly  re- 
collect the  interesting  election  that  took  place  a  few  years  since 
at  Glasgow,  in  which  Sir  Walter  Scott  was  one  of  the  candi- 
dates. At  Oxford  and  Cambridge  the  chancellor  is  elected  bi- 
ennially by  the  members  of  the  convocation  or  senate,  both  of 
which  are  large  bodies. 

"He  would  detain  the  meeting  one  moment  more  to  state 
his  conviction  that  the  interests  of  colleges  would  be  promo- 


86 


ted  by  placing  the  situation  of  President,  Provost,  or  Rector, 
upon  higher  ground  than  it  at  present  occupied  in  most  of 
our  institutions — He  thought  that  this  officer  should  be  above 
all  the  faculties  and  not  too  closely  connected  with  any  one 
of  them,  that  his  duties  should  be  rather  of  supervision  and 
general  management  than  of  instruction — In  too  many  of 
our  colleges  or  universities,  he  was  viewed  only  as  a  member 
of  the  faculty  of  arts;  being  so  treated  by  the  trustees  them- 
selves— and  by  the  other  faculties.  He  would  like  to  see  the 
President  in  truth  the  head  of  the  university,  occupying  a 
distinguished  station  in  the  Board  of  Trustees,  controling 
all  the  faculties,  superintending  all  the  departments.  It  should 
be  a  situation  such  as  an  experienced  and  retiring  statesman 
would  be  proud  to  fill;  a  good  example  had  been  set  by  the 
new  university  of  Virginia.  It  was  in  a  measure  followed 
by  a  recent  appointment  in  the  oldest  university  in  this  coun- 
try; and  he  would  rejoice  to  see  the  principle  acted  upon  in 
other  institutions." 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  to  meet  at  ten 
o'clock,  on  Thursday  morning. 


J.  Delafied,  Secretary. 


87 


New  York,  21st  October,  1830. 

Pursuant  to  adjournment  the  convention  assem- 
bled this  morning  at  10  o'clock — President  Bates 
having  taken  the  chair,  opened  the  business  of  the 
day  with  an  appropriate  prayer. 

The  Secretary  read  the  minutes  of  the  proceed- 
ings on  the  previous  day. 

The  committee  of  arrangements  proposed  the 
following  rule  of  order,  "  Whenever  a  distinct 
proposition  in  writing,  drawn  from  a  subject  that 
has  been  discussed  before  this  convention,  shall  be 
submitted,  with  a  desire  to  have  an  expression  of 
opinion  by  ayes  and  noes  thereupon  ;  the  ques- 
tion shall  first  be  put  by  the  presiding  member, — 
Will  this  body  express  an  opinion  upon  the  proposi- 
tion now  submitted  ? — and  no  proposition  as  afore- 
said shall  be  voted  upon  until  this  question  shall 
have  been  determined  in  the  affirmative." 

On  motion  duly  seconded,  the  proposition  was 
adopted. 


88 

Dr.  Wainwright  read  an  interesting  letter  from 
Professor  Stuart  of  Andover,  expressing  his  appro- 
bation of  the  meeting,  and  offering  his  views  in 
relation  to  the  proposed  university. 

Lieut.  Drum,  and  Lieut.  Mitchell,  of  West 
Point,  were  introduced  and  took  their  seats — and 
presented  to  the  convention  an  exposition  of  the 
views  and  objects  of  the  Associate  Society  of 
West  Point. 

On  motion  duly  seconded  the  paper  was  referred 
to  the  committee  on  a  National  Society. 

Professor  Perdicari  rose  and  addressed  the 
meeting,  offering  his  views  in  relation  to  teaching 
the  Greek  language,  and  to  its  pronunciation. 
Mr.  Perdicari  remarked  that, 

"At  a  moment  when  literature  excites  such  interest  as  to 
bring  to  one  place  many  of  the  distinguished  scholars  of  the 
nation,  I  hope  that  it  will  not  be  thought  improper  if  I  should 
beg  the  liberty  to  make  a  few  remarks  on  the  system  of  teach- 
ing the  Greek  language. 

"As  the  present  system  is  well  understood  by  every  one 
of  my  audience,  I  will  not  dwell  upon  it  more  than  to  re- 
mark, that  it  is  carried  on  with  great  haste, — that  the  youth 


89 


who  seldom  understands  the  grammar  of  his  own  language, 
is  driven  through  the  spacious  halls  of  grammar,  if  I  may  use 
the  expression,  in  full  gallop,  without  being  suffered  to  ac- 
quaint himself  with  the  beauties  and  proportions  of  each  de- 
partment, and  with  the  connexion  and  bearing  of  each  other 
part  to  the  formation  of  the  whole;  he  is  taught  the  names 
of  cases,  declensions,  moods,  tenses,  &c.  without  a  full  ex- 
planation of  their  meaning;  he  is  questioned  upon  the  eight 
parts  of  speech  at  the  same  time,  without  being  suffered  to  un- 
derstand one  of  them  fully,  and  he  is  then  introduced  into 
the  labyrinth  of  syntax  with  less  precaution  than  into  techno- 
logy. I  need  not  remark  that  such  a  system,  far  from  disci- 
plining the  mind,  has  every  thing  calculated  to  dishearten  the 
most  persevering  scholar  and  confound  the  best  intellect :  for 
the  human  mind  never  delights  in  what  it  does  not  under- 
stand; it  may  dig  and  seek  for  a  while,  but  it  will  soon  give 
up  the  object.  In  order  to  avoid  the  pernicious  effects  of  such 
a  system  there  is  but  one  way,  and  that  is  to  introduce  the 
black  board  of  the  mathematician  into  the  recitation  room  of 
the  Greek  instructer;  the  scholar  may  be  permitted  to  have 
a  manual  grammar,  but  the  instructer  must  be  his  own 
grammar  while  in  the  recitation  room;  he  must  put  the  ex- 
ample of  the  subject,  whatever  it  happens  to  be,  upon  the 
board;  he  must  explain  it  in  a  familiar  manner,  and  inform 
his  scholars  with  regard  to  the  rules  and  exceptions,  and  when 
they  have  fully  understood  his  explanations  and  remarks 
he  may  then  efface  from  his  board  all  the  examples,  and  re- 
quire his  pupils  to  come  the  next  day  prepared,  to  lecture  him, 

on  the  same  subject,  having  upon  the  board  the  same  or  other 

12 


90 


examples  that  will  answer  for  the  subject;  when  they  have 
fully  understood  one  part  of  speech,  then  the  work  of  some 
proper  author  may  be  placed  in  their  hands  and  they  may  be 
drilled  upon  the  parts  of  speech  they  have  learned  only,  their 
instructer  assisting  them  in  the  translation  of  the  other  parts. 
When  they  have  been  thus  taught  all  the  eight  parts  of 
speech,  and  the  whole  philosophy  of  technology,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  explain  upon  the  board,  by  examples,  all  the  rules  and 
the  meaning  of  grammatical  terms,  then  each  of  his  little 
heroes  is  a  Theseus,  ready  to  enter  the  complicated  labyrinth 
of  syntax :  here  again  the  instructer  must  not  permit  them  to 
burden  their  young  minds,  with  rules  they  are  unable  to 
understand,  but  as  in  the  first  part  of  the  grammar,  he  must 
use  his  own  discretion,  as  to  the  order  of  the  subject;  he  must 
begin  by  putting  upon  his  board  some  simple  sentences,  and 
give  simple  and  familiar  rules,  then  pass  from  simple  to  more 
complicated  sentences,  requiring  of,  and  teaching  them  the 
power  and  ability  of  explaining  what  they  have  learned,  in 
their  own  language,  without  the  assistance  of  their  grammars, 
while  in  the  recitation  room ;  they  will  thus  be  carried  from 
one  step  to  another  without  being  permitted  to  mount  on  the 
top  of  this  structure  by  a  single  leap;  they  will  thus  acquire  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  grammar,  which  will  enable  them  to 
pursue  the  study  of  the  classics  without  being  disgusted  with 
them;  they  should  not  be  required  to  translate  any  author, 
before  their  teacher  has  given  them  in  a  familiar  lecture,  the 
life  of  the  writer,  his  excellencies  as  well  as  defects,  if  he 
happens  to  have  any;  besides  this,  a  short  lecture  should  pre- 


91 

cede  every  recitation,  the  object  of  which  should  be,  to  explain 
historical  facts,  which  being  beyond  the  grasp  of  young  scho- 
lars, often  render  the  author  dark,  and  incomprehensible. 

"After  the  scholars  have  been  well  strengthened  in  their 
grammar,  and  have  spent  some  time  in  translating;  then 
there  is  another  very  useful  exercise,  I  mean  that  of  com- 
position. I  do  not  mean  original  composition;  for  to  write 
an  original  Greek  composition  and  have  it  mean  something, 
pre-supposes  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  classics,  be- 
sides no  man  can  write  unless  he  can  enter  into  the  spirit 
of  the  language  he  writes,  and  Greek  words  put  down  (let 
them  be  according  to  the  rules  of  grammar,)  without  this 
spirit,  are  but  words,  and  such  a  composition  has  as  much  of 
meaning  in  it,  as  a  mummy  has  life.  Instead  of  compelling 
the  scholar  to  write  original  composition  let  his  instructer  or 
professor  translate  from  some  Greek  prose  writers  into  English, 
let  him  have  it  as  literal  as  possible,  then  let  him  present  this 
translation  to  his  class,  and  require  them  to  turn  it  into  Greek ; 
when  that  has  been  put  into  execution,  let  him  first  correct  it 
as  a  mere  Greek  composition,  then  let  him  compare  it  be- 
fore his  scholars,  with  the  original,  and  see  wherein  they 
have  differed :  let  this  exercise  be  as  frequent  as  possible,  and 
they  will  soon  imbibe  the  true  spirit  of  the  language. 

"This  is  the  system,  gentlemen,  which  if  carried  into  effect, 
will  surely  guide  in  safety,  all  those  who  are  engaged  in  the 
study  of  the  Greek  language.  I  know  that  this  system  will 
require  a  long  time  to  be  executed  as  it  should  be;  but  let 


92 


me  candidly  tell  you,  that  this  is  the  only  way  that  leadeth  to 
success,  and  consequently  this  is  the  shortest. 

"But  in  the  present  system  there  is  one  obstacle  which 
throws  the  veil  of  death  over  the  whole  language;  I  have  re- 
ference to  the  pronunciation;  there  are  two  pronunciations, 
the  Erasmian  or  reformed,  and  the  old  or  that  of  the  mo- 
dern Greek;  the  Americans  profess  to  follow  the  Eras- 
mian, though  in  fact  they  do  not. 

"I  propose  to  lay  before  you  gentlemen,  the  history,  and 
discuss  the  merits  of  these  pronunciations,  and  if  you  favor 
me  with  your  attention  and  indulgence,  I  hope  to  convince 
you  of  the  superiority  of  the  modern. 

"In  examining  the  antiquity  of  the  Erasmian  pronuncia- 
tion, we  retrace  it  to  the  sixteenth  century,  and  find  it  to  be 
the  offspring  of  a  trick  played  upon  Erasmus,  its  founder. 
The  incident  (the  veracity  of  which  has  not  been  questioned 
by  the  best  friends  of  Erasmus,)  is  the  following: — while 
Erasmus  was  at  Louvain,  Glarianus  arrived  from  Paris,  and 
was  invited  to  dine  in  the  college,  and  being  asked  what 
news  he  had  brought  with  him  from  Paris, — Glarianus, 
knowing  Erasmus  to  be  very  fond  of  novelties  and  wonder- 
fully credulous,  made  up  a  story  of  his  own,  and  replied,  that 
some  Greeks,  of  fine  education  and  acquirements  had  arrived 
in  Paris,  and  used  a  different  pronunciation  from  the  prevail- 
ing one,  for  example,  says  he,  instead  of  pronouncing  the 
second  letter  of  the  alphabet  betta  they  say  vetta,  instead  of 


93 


oie,  01,  &c. — As  soon  as  Erasmus  heard  this  report  he  wrote 
his  dialogue  of  the  reformed  pronunciation  of  the  Greek  lan- 
guage and  it  soon  was  adopted  by  many  European  scholars. 
I  know,  gentlemen,  that  reason  hesitates  to  admit  that  ma- 
ny excellent  scholars  could  have  been  so  easily  led  into  this 
error  by  Erasmus,  but  when  we  recollect  how  easy  it  is  to  pro- 
pagate error  and  vice,  when  we  recollect  the  lamentable  con- 
dition of  Greece,  the  situation  of  her  sons,  and  her  literature, 
at  that  period;  and  more  than  all,  when  we  recollect  the 
magic  charm  that  clings  around  the  genius  of  great  men, 
we  should  not  be  at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  speedy  success 
of  the  reformed  pronunciation.  But  the  pretences  of  the 
reformed  pronunciation  to  antiquity,  may  be  easier  unravel- 
led and  better  understood  by  examining  the  history  of  the 
modern  pronunciation. 

"At  the  capture  of  Constantinople  by  the  Turks,  most  of 
the  noble  families  of  the  Greek  nation,  took  refuge  in  wes- 
tern Europe,  where  they  taught  their  native  language  with 
their  native  pronunciation.  These  were  persons  of  great  ac- 
quirements in  the  Greek  and  Latin  literature,  these  are  the 
scholars  known  by  the  honorable  title  of  restorers  of  learn- 
ing, and  the  correctness  of  their  pronunciation  (which  was  the 
same  with  that  used  by  the  present  Greeks)  was  no  more 
questioned  by  European  scholars,  than  you  will  be  disposed 
to  question  that  of  any  modern  language  when  taught  by  a 
native  scholar.  And  accordingly  we  find  that  Erasmus  him- 
self, before  he  had  ventured  to  manufacture  his  reformed 
pronunciation,  when  in  need  of  a  Greek  Professor  for  the 


94 

university  of  Louvain,  wrote  to  Lascharis,  a  Greek  gram- 
marian at  Constantinople,  to  forward  him  a  native  Greek 
scholar,  competent  to  fill  the  chair  of  the  Greek  professorship. 
I  will  read  that  part  of  his  letter  to  Lascharis  which  has  re- 
ference to  the  subject  before  us. 

"The  letter  is  dated  Louvain,  2d  March,  1518,  and  reads 
thus: — 

" '  Many  persons  here  are  seeking  for  the  Greek  professorship, 
but  my  opinion  has  always  been,  that  we  should  send  for  a 
native  Greek,  from  whom  the  students  might  at  once  acquire 
the  genuine  pronunciation  of  the  Greek  language;  and  this 
opinion  is  acceded  to  by  all  those,  who  have  the  management 
of  this  business, — they  have  accordingly  directed  me  in  their 
behalf,  to  send  for  such  a  man  as  I  should  think  qualified 
for  the  office .  Relying  therefore,  on  your  obliging  disposition 
towards  me,  and  on  your  regard  for  the  cause  of  learning,  I 
beg  you,  if  you  know  of  any  person,  who  in  your  opinion 
will  do  honor  to  us  both,  that  you  would  direct  him  to  hasten 
to  this  place  immediately.' 

"Now  gentlemen  this  proves  satisfactorily  that  the  modern 
pronunciation  was  considered  not  only  by  the  European 
scholars  but  even  by  the  great  Erasmus  himself,  to  be  the 
genuine  pronunciation. 

"From  the  capture  of  Constantinople  we  may  trace  the 
modern  pronunciation  to  the  Christian  era;  as  a  proof  of 


95 


this  I  would  point  out  to  you,  gentlemen,  the  well  known  fact 
of  the  Greek  church,  whose  services  and  ceremonies,  without 
one  exception,  are  performed  in  the  ancient  Greek  language, 
and  if  their  superstition  did  not  permit  them  to  perform 
their  rites  in  a  language  more  intelligible  to  the  mass  of 
the  people  than  the  ancient  Greek,  we  have  little  reason, 
if  any  at  all,  to  believe  that  they  would  have  disregard- 
ed the  pronunciation.  Again  Dr.  Gillies  remarks,  in  his  his- 
tory of  Greece,  that  'the  Greek  was  spoken  in  the  middle 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  when  Constantinople  was  taken  by 
the  Turks,  so  that,  from  the  time  of  Homer,  it  subsisted 
with  little  variation  as  a  living  language,  for  two  thou- 
sand four  hundred  years;'  if  this  be  a  fact  (and  I  have  not  the 
least  doubt  that  it  is)  then  I  say  that  the  strong  probability  is, 
that  no  perceptible  change  could  have  taken  place  in  the  pro- 
nunciation of  the  Greek.  But  we  can  arrive  at  the  certainty 
of  this  truth  by  referring  to  the  works  of  Plutarch, — there 
we  find  that  he  uses  all  the  disputed  letters  just  as  the 
modern  Greeks  do;  for  example,  in  translating  the  name  of 
Livi,  he  writes  Nibios,  and  thus  proves  at  the  same  time  that 
i.  was  pronounced  e.  and  not  i.  and  6.  ve  and  not  be,  &c.  It 
seems,  gentlemen,  that  the  European  scholars  in  the  dark 
ages  of  literature,  guided  by  some  bright  luminary  of  their 
fancy,  descended  to  the  regions  of  the  dead,  held  conver- 
sation with  the  manes  of  Plato  and  Aristotle,  listened  to  the 
sweet  accents  of  Homer  and  Sophocles,  and  ascended  like 
intellectual  giants,  with  wisdom  sufficient  to  correct  the 
pronunciation  of  the  untaught  Plutarch. 


96 


"  I  will  not  take  up  your  time,  gentlemen,  by  entering  in- 
to the  minutiae  of  this  reformation,  but  I  will  bring  for- 
ward some  of  the  strongest  arguments  of  the  reformers 
against  the  old  or  modern  pronunciation.  The  followers  of 
Erasmus  protest  against  the  five  e's  of  the  modern  pronun- 
ciation, they  say  that  this  would  oblige  one  to  speak  in  one 
way  and  write  in  another,  and  they  cannot,  possibly,  see  how 
the  ancient  Greeks  could  understand  each  other,  since  words 
of  different  meaning  would  have  the  same  sound;  now  with- 
out taking  the  trouble  to  answer  that  the  ancient  Greeks 
understood  each  other  just  as  the  modern  Greeks  do,  I  would 
only  point  out  the  absurdity  of  their  wise  rule,  of  writing 
just  as  we  speak,  by  begging  you  to  apply  it  to  your  own 
language,  and  tell  me  if  it  does  not  throw  the  whole  fabric 
of  orthography  into  confusion. 

"The  next  and  the  last  argument  of  the  reformers,  which  I 
intend  to  mention,  is  that  respecting  dipthongs :  they  say  that 
the  modern  pronunciation  abuses  the  term  dipthong,  which 
means  a  combination  of  two  sounds  by  uttering  them  with 
one  simple  sound; — without  answering  that  a  combina- 
tion of  two  or  three  things  ought  to  be  one  and  the  same 
thing  after  the  combination  has  taken  place,  I  merely  ask, 
how  was  it  that  some  of  these  reformers,  who  doubtless  were 
Englishmen,  did  not  perceive  the  same  abuse  of  the  term 
dipthong  in  their  own  language?  I  should  suppose  that  they 
never  met  with  the  words  Caesar,  Phoenix,  &c. 

"It  is  truly  astonishing  to  see  men  of  wisdom  and  learn- 


97 


ing  engaged  in  such  an  idle  controversy;  we  can  hardly  per- 
suade ourselves  that,  scholars  as  they  were,  they  could  have 
been  guilty  of  such  absurdities;  but  strange  and  ridiculous 
as  it  may  appear,  it  is  a  fact  much  to  be  lamented,  that  man 
does  not  dispose  of  the  schemes  of  his  fancy,  as  he  does  of  his 
dreams;  he  is  too  proud  to  admit  as  false,  what  he,  while 
wide  awake,  asserts  to  be  true,  and  far  from  waking  from 
his  wild  fancies,  he  uses  his  utmost  ingenuity  to  inveigle 
others,  and  make  them  partakers  of  his  delirious  reveries;  for 
had  Erasmus  investigated  the  matter  before  he  ventured  to 
publish  his  dialogues  on  the  Greek  pronunciation,  he  never 
would  have  brought  them  to  light. 

"Again,  we  find  that  the  wild  mountaineer  as  well  as  the 
polished  Greek ;  the  scholar  as  well  as  the  untutored  peasant ; 
the  one  who  inhabits  the  splendid  halls  of  Constantinople,  as 
well  as  he  who  lurks  beneath  the  ruins  of  the  once  opulent 
Athens ;  the  Islanders,  as  well  as  those  who  have  been  scat- 
tered in  the  different  parts  of  the  world,  have  one  and  the 
same  pronunciation,  without  the  least  variation;  this,  gentle- 
men, points  to  a  strong  cause. 

"Now  let  us  examine  the  unity  of  the  reformed  pro- 
nunciation. In  looking  over  the  European  nations  we  find 
that  the  reformed  pronunciation  of  the  Italians,  on  account 
of  the  great  similarity  of  the  sounds  of  its  vowels  with  those 
of  the  modern  Greek  language,  bears  a  greater  analogy  to 
it  than  that  of  the  French;  the  farther  to  the  North  we  go, 

the  greater  dissimilarity  we  find  in  the  two  pronunciations; 

13 


98 


as  we  come  westward,  on  the  shores  of  America,  (gentlemen 
excuse  me  if  I  express  my  opinion  freely)  I  say,  as  we 
come  to  the  shores  of  America,  we  find  all  these  pronun- 
ciations as  it  were  in  a  heap;  we  find  every  Academy  has 
its  peculiar  pronunciation,  and  every  college  is  blessed  with 
all  the  pronunciations  of  the  different  Academies;  and  each 
scholar  claims  some  peculiarity  of  his  own:  in  short,  gen- 
tlemen, here  we  find  what  I  should  term,  the  Indistincto 
promiscua  et,  turbulentissima  pronunciatio,  which  being  in- 
terpreted means,  no  pronunciation  at  all.  If  the  immortal 
spirit  of  Demosthenes  should  ever  revisit  this  habitation  of 
mortals;  if  it  should  cross  the  Atlantic  for  the  purpose  of 
gazing  once  more  upon  the  splendid  shrine  of  his  and  your 
favorite  liberty,  if  he  should  happen  to  be  present  at  some 
of  your  Greek  declamations,  and  should  be  told  that  it  was 
Greek,  he  would  exclaim, 

*  Ov  fjux  rovg  Iv  MagaAwi  4gox(v§vvs6<favras  ruv  *|oyovwv,  xai 
rwg  Iv  nXcwaiaicr  tfa^aTagajtlvous,  xai  rovg  Iv  2aXap-?vi  vaviutxytfav- 
<rag  xai  rovg  Iv'  A^TSfJMtfi'w,  xai  tfoXXous  krigovg  rovg  Iv  ro~g  Sr\fM>tfioig 
fMrcjfiatfi  xsijxlvoug,  ayadovg  avSgag.' 

"Since  the  present  state  of  the  Greek  pronunciation  in 
America  is  so  unsettled,  I  think  it  will  greatly  contribute  to 
the  encouragement  of  Greek  literature  to  adopt  either  of  the 
two,  and  in  order  to  make  a  happy  choice,  let  us  carefully 
examine  the  utilities  of  each.  After  what  I  have  said  in 
relation  to  their  antiquity,  it  will  be  useless,  I  think,  to  re- 
mark which  of  the  two  has  the  superiority;  in  this  respect 


99 


indeed,  we  cannot  admit  that  either  is  what  the  ancient  pro- 
nunciation was,  but  then  we  ought  to  weigh  the  probabili- 
ties of  each  in  this  respect,  and  though  we  cannot  arrive  at 
the  whole,  let  us  apply  practice,  nay,  let  us  do  more  than  this, 
let  us  apply  the  rule  of  approximation  and  see  which  of  the 
two  will  carry  us  nearer  to  the  whole, — but  as  I  wish  to 
save  you  as  well  as  myself,  the  trouble  of  applying  practice 
and  approximation,  let  us  suppose,  (which  by  the  by  is 
rather  a  broad  supposition,)  that  their  claims  to  antiquity 
are  the  same,  and  then  let  us  proceed  in  our  choice: — first, 
then,  the  reformed  pronunciation  is  more  difficult  to  be 
acquired,  since  it  discards  the  accents  and  rests  wholly  upon 
prosody,  which  is  never  understood  by  beginners,  and  sel- 
dom by  scholars,  when  they  read  prose,  where  they  cannot 
be  guided  by  the  number  of  syllables,  as  they  are  when 
they  read  poetry.  Secondly,  the  Erasmian  pronunciation 
is  inconsistent  with  itself;  its  rules  are  not  settled,  as  in  the 
modern,  seeing  each  nation  in  Europe  has  its  peculiar  rules; 
the  moment  therefore  you  adopt  the  reformed  pronuncia- 
tion, the  question  occurs,  which  of  all  these  modes  or  na- 
tions, will  you  follow  as  your  example,  and  why  have 
not  you  the  same  right  to  pronounce  the  Greek  according 
to  the  analogy  of  your  own  language,  as  they  do?  which 
will  bring  us  to  the  very  point  from  whence  we  started, 
namely  to  have  no  pronunciation. — But  if  you  introduce  into 
the  halls  of  learning  the  modern  pronunciation,  you  will  not 
be  obliged  to  refer  to  this  one  and  that  one,  for  authority,  but 
to  a  whole  nation  whose  rules  bear  the  mark  of  usage:  but 
here  some  one  may  ask,  as  they  often  do,  what  shall  we  do 


100 


with  the  quantity  if  we  adopt  the  pronunciation  of  the  pre- 
sent Greeks?  If  I  ask  what  you  do  with  the  accents,  you 
would  probably  answer,  they  are  insignificant  points;  but  I 
have  too  great  a  respect  for  quantity  to  give  a  similar  reply.  I 
answer,  then,  the  question,  by  saying,  that  the  dispute  is 
respecting  sounds,  and  not  quantity;  and  what  has  quantity 
to  do  with  sound?  surely  no  more  than  the  sublime  with  the 
ridiculous !  When  the  question  respecting  the  sound  shall  have 
been  settled,  who  can  doubt  that  any  sound  may  be  made 
long,  or  short.  I  will  prove  my  assertion  by  reading  a  few  lines 
from  Homer  with  the  quantity. 

*  AXXoi  H&  £a  0£oi  re  xa»  dvipsg  UfKoxoputfrai 
EvSov  <ravvuj£ioj  •  Aia  6'  ovx  e'-^s  vrtSv^s  wtfvog ' 
'AXX'  oye  fijpf«.»jpi£s  xara.  (pps'va ,  £>£  'AjpXija 
TifA^tfij,  oXsVtj  Si  iroktag  i<gi  vrjotfiv  'Aj^otiSv. 
'HSs  Si  ol  xatd  SufAov  dpitfrij  tpuivsro  (3ov\ri, 
IIsfxYai  tit'  'ArpsiSri  'Ayajasju-vovi  ouXov  Ovsipov' 

Kai  ffciv  cpuvrjrfcuf,  eitsa  ifrspoevru  irpotfvfiSu.  * 
Batfx'  «Si ,  ouXs*Ovsip£ ,  Soag  lie!  vrjag '  A^aicT* 
?EX&wv  is  xXitfirjv  'Aya^ifivovog  '  ArpsiScco, 
Ilavra  jxaX'  arpexiwg  ayopeu/f/.£v ,  wg  eVitsXXoj 
0up>j£ai  I  xe'Xeus  xap^xofAouvrag  *  Aj^ajoug 
navtfu<$r<] '  vuv  yap  xev  SXoi  iroXiv  eOpuaywav 
Tpucov '  oi3  yap  eV  af*9»$  'OXufuria'  6wfAar'  s^ovres 
'ASdvaroi  <ppa£ovTa*  *  iidy\tt.\kVs>i  yap  aVavras 
"Hp>j  XHrtfo^rj  Tp&etftfi  51  xi)&'  Jq^rrai.' 

"  It  is  true  that  the  Greeks  read  prose  as  well  as  poetry  by 
accent,  and  the  reason  of  their  doing  so  is  to  be  attributed  to 


101 


the  great  difficulty  of  reading  by  quantity.  There  are, 
however,  many  scholars  who  read  by  quantity,  and  any 
one  may  do  it,  but  you  know,  gentlemen,  that  it  is  a  rare 
attainment  to  read  poetry  as  it  should  be  read,  and  we  meet 
with  few  who  can  read  properly  English  poetry;  and  I  have 
met  with  few,  if  with  any,  who  can  read  Greek  poetry. 

"To  adopt  the  modern  pronunciation  then,  does  not  admit 
the  fact  of  disregarding  quantity,  on  the  contrary  a  perfect 
knowledge  of  the  accents  will  lessen  the  difficulties  of  the 
prosody.  Again,  by  teaching  the  Greek  with  the  Erasmian 
pronunciation,  you  introduce  to  the  notice  of  your  pupil  a 
skeleton;  let  it  be  that  of  some  venerable  man  to  whose 
virtues  the  world  paid  and  pays  its  homage:  let  it  be  that 
of  some  hero,  whose  noble  achievements  excited  the  admira- 
tion of  mankind,  or  at  whose  outrageous  crimes,  the  world 
stands  aghast,  it  can  only  excite,  and  that  for  a  moment, 
awe  and  solemnity;  but  its  charms  took  their  flight  with  its 
immortal  spirit,  and  though  the  scholar  should  be  disposed 
to  treat  it  ever  so  ill,  he  cannot  excite  a  frown,  or  cause  the 
blood  to  boil  and  his  eye  to  sparkle. 

"But  the  case  will  be  far  otherwise  if  you  introduce  into 
your  academies  the  modern  pronunciation .  The  scholar  would 
not,  indeed  he  cannot  be  insensible  of  the  fact  that  he  reads 
the  Greek  language  with  a  pronunciation  by  which  he  will 
be  able  to  converse  with  a  whole  nation,  who  writes  and 
speaks  a  language  not  unlike  to  the  ancient  Greek. — I  am 
fond  of  illustrating  my  assertions  by  facts." 


102 

In  illustration  of  this  assertion,  Mr.  Perdicari 
read  the  following  extract,  written  in  praise  of 
the  press  by  Dr.  Corey. 

'  Avrri  jaovii  Wixrfie  rov  ffav5afwwopa  XP°V0V>  <pu^«|atfa  «"<*  tfoqxi 
tujv  •'aXeuwv  ^iXotfofpuv  xai  flrpoyovwv  ^(*wv  tfapayysXffcaTa  aung  f*ov»j, 
xara^tfatfa  xoivigv  t^v  dvdyv«o*»v  twv  tfaXeuwv  xai  vs'wv  <tvyyoa\u^aruv, 
soVs/psrdg  Spdas&gag  sfccov  xoivov  Xaov,xai  £<pwr«r6  *oXXd  g0v»j  «% 
Eupu*»j£  aun?  xai  tf^jwpov  ,  wg  ayysXog  sg  oupavoo  ,  Tccpdrrci  tjjv  xoXufA- 
§^pav  twv  Iw»s>j(awv  ,  xai  (3a*ri%ei  elg  aungv  «t$v  EXXa5a ,  Sta  va 
6spair$C<fri  rd*oXXd  xai  f*axpd  tik  djtywsfyjLaTa ,  xai  vd  <r^v  xaflapi'tfrj 
two  rov  p^5*ov  <%  dVai&utfi'as*  avrrj  r£kt>s  vavruv ,  oVsipoutfa  xeu 
twv  d-ravdpfcwojv  dwi^iXotfdqxjv  rdX*)pw&)  xai  dtfuvrotxra  tfuvrdy/xara, 
dVooeixvsi  sV<  fidXXov  xeu  /xdXXov  xou  «%  <piXotfoq>ia£<n9v  yiydvrsiov  iVyvv, 
xairwv  «ruyf*aiwv  avrSjs  sxfy&v  rdysXora  xai /?wfAoX6*xa  *aXaio*ffca<ra0. 

Mr.  Perdicari  exhibited  the  differences  exist- 
ing between  the  ancient  and  modern  Greek,  in 
the  cited  passage,  stating  that  his  remarks  were 
applicable  to  the  modern  Greek,  as  used  by  well 
educated  persons.     Mr.  Perdicari  then  continued, 

"Let  a  pupil  be  informed  that  a  scholar  who  has  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  ancient  Greek,  and  especially 
one  who  has  the  proper  pronunciation,  may  acquire  the 
modern  Greek  in  the  course  of  three  months,  and  in  order 
that  he  may  not  think  your  assertion  wild  and  Quixotic, 
tell  him  that  while  I  was  at  Mount  Pleasant,  Mr.  Sidney 
Johnson,  late  of  Yale  college,  attended  to  the  subject,  and 


103 


in  the  course  of  three  months  he  was  able  to  converse,  and 
after  he  left  the  place  he  corresponded  with  me  in  modern 
Greek;  let  him  be  informed,  if  he  needs  be  at  all,  that  the 
modern  Greek  differs  from  the  ancient  in  the  arrangement 
of  the  words  only,  that  it  has  the  same  vocabulary,  and  with 
few  exceptions,  the  same  grammar,  that  a  good  knowledge  of 
the  modern  Greek,  which  he  can  never  acquire  unless  he  is  a 
good  scholar  in  the  ancient,  besides  the  charm  of  accom- 
plishment, will  tend  to  perfect  him  in  the  ancient  Greek, 
by  teaching  him  to  think  in  that  language;  tell  him  that 
the  Greek  nation  is  already  free,  and  that  its  literature 
will  soon  take  its  place  among  the  refined  literatures  of 
other  nations;  tell  him  that  its  language  has  already  its 
poets  and  philosophers,  that  you  will  soon  have  commer- 
cial intercourse  with  that  nation,  and  that  she  will  then 
have  an  easy  access  to  her  literature  and  her  concerns 
through  the  medium  of  her  newspapers:  and  after  you 
have  told  him  all  this,  be  asured  that  you  will  not  fail  to  rouse 
within  his  young  bosom  a  new  ambition  and  a  warm  love  for 
that  literature  which  withstood  the  mad  whirlwind  of  time. 
I  have  thus  far  laid  before  you,  gentlemen,  the  history  of  the 
pronunciation  as  well  as  the  utility  of  each: — I  hope  to 
have  convinced  those,  if  there  were  any,  who  might  have 
been  prejudiced  against  the  modern  pronunciation. 

"Gentlemen,  perhaps  I  have  tried  your  patience  more 
than  I  ought  to  have  done,  but  I  must  beg  your  indulgence 
and  add  that,  John  Pickering,  that  great  scholar  of  whom 
America  may  well  boast,  and  whose  acquirement  in  the 


104 

Greek  literature  might  do  honor  to  any  nation,  advocated  the 
cause  of  the  modern  pronunciation;  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  King, 
Mr.  Jones,  Dr.  How,  Rev.  Mr.  Robertson,  all  gentlemen  of 
liberal  education,  and  who  have  had  the  opportunity  of  being 
acquainted,  by  experience,  with  the  modern  pronunciation, 
have  at  various  times  expressed  their  approbation  in  its 
favor,  and  indeed  many  of  the  Presidents  of  colleges,  Profes- 
sors of  the  Greek  language,  and  instructers  of  different  acade- 
mies with  whom  I  have  had  the  honor  to  converse  upon  the 
subject  before  us,  all  admitted  the  force  of  the  arguments  I 
have  brought  before  you,  and  indeed  one  of  your  presidents 
added,  that  the  modern  pronunciation  will  ultimately  prevail 
in  this  country — but  with  all  this,  gentlemen,  the  mode  has 
been  hitherto  treated  with  utter  neglect. 

"And  let  it  be  said  to  the  honor  of  Mount  Pleasant  Aca- 
demy, that  it  was  the  first  institution  in  this  country  whose 
founders,  convinced  of  the  important  truth,  that  the  pronun- 
ciation of  a  language  is  its  very  life,  disregarded  usage,  and 
by  their  praiseworthy  perseverance  proved  that  young  Ameri- 
cans could,  and  can,  read  the  Greek  with  its  proper  pronun- 
ciation with  as  much  facility  and  correctness  as  any  Greek. 
I  know  there  is  an  opinion  abroad  that  the  pronunciation  of 
the  Greek  is  of  little  consequence,  and  its  accents  and  dip- 
thongs  of  less,  but  I  hope  that  no  one  who  has  any  pretension 
to  scholarship  and  taste  for  languages  can  be  guilty  of  enter- 
taining such  an  opinion  as  this,  for  though  the  pronunciation, 
accents,  and  dipthongs,  be  of  little  consequence,  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  they  are  parts  of  a  whole,  and  nothing  can  be  a 


105 


whole  which  has  not  all  its  various  parts.  Such  an  opinion  is 
probably  advanced  in  consequence  of  the  Greek  language 
being  called  dead,  but  truly,  gentlemen,  I  am  unable  to  under- 
stand, if  not  the  meaning,  at  least  the  extent  of  this  term : — 
when  one  can  understand  Homer  as  well  as  he  does  Milton, 
when  he  can  feel  the  sensation  of  the  sublime,  when  he  has 
before  him  the  immortal  Iliad  of  the  former,  as  well  as  when 
he  reads  the  Paradise  Lost  of  the  latter;  when  he  can  enjoy 
the  beauty  of  buoyancy  he  meets  with  in  the  odes  of  the 
Old  Anacreon,  as  well  as  that  he  finds  in  any  of  the  English 
or  American  bards;  and  especially  when  he  reads  them  with 
the  same  pronunciation  with  which  Plutarch  used : — in  such 
a  case  I  will  not  take  it  upon  my  self  to  decide  what  kind  of 
death  this  can  be.  The  fact  is  that  the  Greek  language  and 
literature  have  been  committed  to  the  cold  grave  and  all  its 
horrors  alive;  there  they  have  slumbered  for  centuries,  there 
they  are,  and  it  is  from  the  depth  of  the  tomb  they  appeal 
alike  to  the  philanthropy  of  the  christian,  to  the  generosity  of 
the  statesman  and  patriot,  and  to  the  taste  of  the  scholar. 
I  hope,  Sir,  that  the  time  has  arrived  when  the  friends  of  the 
Greek  language  and  literature  will  save  them  from  the  cruel 
and  awful  doom  to  which  they  have  been  committed.  I 
assure  you,  gentlemen,  that  the  moment  you  have  expelled 
from  your  Institutions  and  your  country,  that  truly  deformed 
pronunciation  of  the  Greek,  and  as  soon  as  you  will  insist 
upon  its  being  studied  as  a  living  language,  so  soon  you  will 
see  that  the  object  improperly  called  dead,  is  in  fact,  a  lovely 
and  living  being. 

14 


106 

"I  have  said,  if  not  all  I  wish,  at  least  all  that  time  permits 
me,  and  now  submit  the  subject  to  your  candid  and  im- 
partial consideration." 

On  motion  duly  made  and  seconded,  this  address 
was  referred  to  a  special  committee,  consisting  of 
President  Cushing, 
Professor  Robinson, 
Professor  Patten. 

Rev.  Dr.  Edwards,  of  Boston  ;  Rev.  Mr.  Emer- 
son, from  Weathersfield  ;  Rev.  Mr.  Colton,  from 
Brooklyn ;  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ware,  of  New 
York  ;  were  introduced,  and  took  their  seats. 

Mr.  Theodore  Woolsey,  offered  some  remarks 
in  relation  to  the  Greek  language. 

President  Marsh,  of  the  committee,  to  whom 
was  referred  the  address  or  communication  from 
Professor  Vethake,  reported  the  following  ques- 
tions, as  calculated  in  their  view  to  bring  into 
discussion  the  most  important  subjects  of  that 
communication. 

1.  Is  it  expedient  to  bring  together  into  the 
same  institutions,  students  who  are  seeking  only 


107 

such  instruction  as  will  prepare  them  for  the  ac- 
tive employments  of  society,  and  those  who  aim 
at  a  general,  or  what  is  called  a  liberal  education  ? 

2.  Is  it  expedient,  that  all  who  are  aiming  at 
the  more  liberal  cultivation  of  the  mind,  should 
pursue,  in  order  for  its  attainment,  the  same 
course  of  study,  and  to  what  extent  should  it  be 
the  same  ? 

3.  What  are  the  advantages  and  disadvantages, 
of  the  present  arrangements  of  classes  in  our  col- 
leges, and  how  far  is  it  practicable  to  admit  the 
method  of  classing  students,  with  a  reference  to 
their  progress  only  in  the  several  departments  of 
study. 

4.  How  far  is  it  expedient  in  the  discipline  of 
a  literary  institution  to  dispense  with  such  pun- 
ishments as  bring  public  disgrace  upon  the  stu- 
dent, by  the  more  efficient  employment  of  the 
parental  mode  of  discipline. 

5.  Are  the  methods  now  employed  to  excite  the 
ambition,  and  promote  the  industry  of  students, 
such  as  giving  discriminating  appointments  to  the 
most  distinguished,  and  bringing  them  forward  in 


108 

public  exhibitions,  wisely  adapted  to  their  end, 
and  what  are  the  best  methods  of  securing  the 
industry  of  all  ? 

6.  Is  it  expedient  to  retain  the  degree  of  A.  B. 
as  now  received  in  our  colleges,  and  if  so,  what 
should  be  the  qualifications  of  those,  on  whom  it 
is  conferred,  and  how  are  they  to  be  ascertained. 

(Signed,)     James  Marsh,  Chairman. 

On  motion  duly  seconded,  the  report  as  read 
was  accepted. 

The  Convention  then  entered  upon  the  discus- 
sion of  the  following  subject,  being  topic  No.  13* 
— "The  confining  students  to  their  classes,  or  al- 
lowing any  to  graduate  when  found  prepared,  on 
examination." 

Colonel  Knapp  addressed  the  meeting  in  favor 
of  the  present  system  of  classification. 

Mr.  W.  C.  Woodbridge  replied  on  the  other 
side,  and  introduced  an  account  of  the  Fellenberg 
School,  at  Hofwyl,  in  Switzerland.  Mr.  Wood- 
bridge  remaked,  that, 


109 


"Some  account  of  the  Fellenberg  institution  had  been  re- 
quested. I  fear  it  may  be  found  irrelevant  to  the  objects  of  the 
meeting,  but  as  the  request  has  been  repeated,  although  I 
have  been  unable  to  prepare  myself,  I  will  venture  to  make 
some  remarks  concerning  those  principles  of  the  establish- 
ment which  apply  to  the  subject  under  discussion. 

"The  great  object  of  Fellenberg  is  to  educate — to  form 
the  character,  not  simply  to  teach.  He  does  not  wish  to  make 
mere  receptacles  of  knowledge,  living  encyclopedias  of 
learning,  but  men  capable  of  action  and  knowing  how  to 
apply  their  knowledge.  He  regards  instruction  as  a  means 
to  this  end.  In  this  view  he  considers  it  necessary  to  adapt 
his  course  to  the  capacity  and  wants  of  each  individual.  To 
educate  alike  those  powers  and  propensities,  he  deems  unrea- 
sonable. He  endeavors  first  to  ascertain  the  intellectual 
capacity  and  physical  vigor  of  each  individual.  He  assigns 
only  such  a  task  as  can  be  performed  without  oppressing  the 
mind  or  injuring  the  body.  He  watches  the  progress  of 
the  youth,  and  changes  the  course  whenever  his  bodily 
or  intellectual  state  may  require  it.  He  never  suffers  the 
mind  to  advance  at  the  expense  of  the  body,  and  often  for- 
bids or  restricts  study  for  months.  Nor  does  he  allow  the 
mind  to  become  distorted  by  too  much  attention  to  a  single 
subject,  or  too  much  development  of  a  single  faculty,  and 
sometimes  even  interrupts  the  pupil  in  a  study  which  absorbs 
him  too  much.  He  divides  education  into  two  periods,  that 
of  development,  and  that  of  acquisition.  In  the  first  he 
seeks  to  produce  harmonious  development  of  all  the  faculties. 


110 


In  order  to  attain  this  end,  his  classification  is  founded  upon 
the  capacity  and  advancement  of  the  pupils,  and  classes  are 
multiplied  so  as  to  place  together  only  those  whose  physical  and 
mental  powers  are  nearly  similar.  He  has  thirty  teachers  for 
one  hundred  pupils.  He^suffers  no  one  to  languish  in  idleness, 
or  turn  his  activity  to  evil  for  want  of  occupation.  He  allows 
none  to  be  broken  down  by  excessive  effort,  or  to  be  discou- 
raged by  inability  to  comprehend  the  lessons  assigned.  Fre- 
quent examinations  and  constant  observations  are  made  in 
order  to  keep  every  one  in  his  proper  place.  He  allows  and 
adopts  no  arbitrary  standards  like  the  bed  of  Procrustes,  to  one 
or  other  of  which,  every  individual  must  be  cut  down  or  ex- 
tended or  shortened.  The  gentleman  before  me  has  exhibi- 
ted very  happily  the  evil  results  from  the  effects  of  ambition, 
in  leading  to  destructive  exertion  or  exciting  more  destructive 
passions. 

"It  has  been  said  that  such  a  course  would  excite  still 
greater  jealousy  and  envy.  If  it  be  accompanied  with  the 
system  of  rewards  and  honors  it  would — but  it  does  not  follow 
that  it  would  if  this  also  is  banished.  On  the  contrary,  in 
Fellenberg's  Institution,  it  is  not.  He  does  not  suppress  emu- 
lation unless  it  appears  in  some  improper  form,  but  he  avoids 
every  artificial  excitement.  In  Hofwyl  there  is  neither  first 
nor  last;  neither  rewards  nor  honors.  He  employs  moral 
influence  and  the  love  of  knowledge  itself  as  the  motives  to 
industry.  The  mind  is  as  much  disposed  to  activity  as  the 
body,  and  if  it  were  properly  directed  there  is  no  reason  why 
that  eager  curiosity  of  childhood  which  asks  a  thousand 


Ill 


questions  on  every  subject,  could  not  be  maintained  through- 
out the  whole  course  of  instruction.  Let  knowledge  be  given 
in  the  time,  and  measure,  and  manner,  in  which  the  mind 
can  receive  it,  and  it  would  generally  be  welcomed.  The 
fundamental  error  in  our  system  seems  to  me  to  be,  that  we 
require  the  child  to  attend  to  subjects  he  cannot  compre- 
hend, and  punish  him  for  his  want  of  interest  in  them.  An 
insect  flies  across  the  school  room,  which  exhibits  a  world  of 
wonders  and  beauties  in  itself  adapted  to  his  capacity  and 
age,  but  he  is  punished  for  gazing  at  it,  and  compelled  to  fix 
his  eyes  on  the  book  before  him,  which  is  often  from  the  na- 
ture of  the  subject,  and  still  oftener  from  the  manner  in  which 
it  is  treated,  entirely  beyond  his  capacity.  We  give  the  infant 
strong  meat;  he  cannot  digest  it,  we  disgrace  him;  if  he  dis- 
gorge it,  we  punish  him.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  this  error  can 
be  repaired  in  our  higher  schools  or  colleges.  They  can  only 
act  on  the  materials  furnished  them,  which  are  often  ruined 
before  they  are  received.  The  reformation,  if  there  be  one, 
must  begin  at  the  foundation  and  not  at  the  top  stone  of  the 
structure  of  education. 

"In  regard  to  ambition  let  me  ask — But  is  it  not  this 
never-sated  thirst  of  honor  and  power  which  is  threatening 
the  best  institutions  of  our  country  more  than  any  other 
cause?  Where  is  its  birth  place?  In  our  schools  for  chil- 
dren. Where  is  it  nurtured  and  strengthened?  In  our 
academies  and  high  schools.  And  where  is  the  glowing 
passion  fanned  to  a  flame?  By  the  honors  of  our  colleges. 
Why  should  this  evil  be  done  that  good  may  come?    why 


112 


should  we  cherish  rivalry  to  encourage  industry?  The  institu- 
tion of  Fellenberg  proves  that  this  motive  is  not  necessary. 
He  urges  his  pupils  forward  by  the  love  of  knowledge,  the 
influence  of  affection,  the  sense  of  duty,  and  the  influence  of 
religious  motives;  and  never  did  I  see  a  more  ardent  thirst 
for  knowledge,  or  more  vigorous  and  patient  habits  of  appli- 
cation pervading  an  institution.  I  found  none  of  that  rivalry, 
that  rankling  envy,  which  I  had  seen  around  me  from  my 
childhood,  and  which  has  planted  thorns  in  many  a  heart, 
and  yet  a  far  more  general  and  intense  application  than  I 
had  ever  known  produced  by  these  dangerous  stimulants. 

"In  regard  to  the  studies  to  be  pursued,  I  am  not  de- 
sirous that  the  arrangements  of  our  existing  institutions 
should  be  destroyed,  much  less,  that  one  and  the  same  course 
should  be  adopted  in  all.  On  the  contrary,  it  seems  to  me, 
there  ought  to  be  a  greater  division  of  our  institutions.  We 
attempt  to  combine  too  much  in  a  single  establishment.  Let 
us  have  schools  adapted  to  every  class  of  students,  fitted  to 
prepare  them  for  every  station  in  life.  Let  us  have  classical 
schools  and  colleges,  where  classical  studies  shall  be  pursued 
in  the  most  thorough  manner,  with  the  addition  of  the  ele- 
ments of  science,  which  shall  retain  the  pupil  until  his  mind 
is  developed,  and  his  judgment  and  experience  matured. 
Let  us  have  universities,  where  the  same  studies  shall  be 
pursued,  to  any  extent  which  may  be  desired,  where  the 
sciences  shall  be  taught  in  all  their  heights  and  depths  and 
applications,  and  where  any  branch  may  be  attended  to  which 
the  circumstances  or  taste  of  the  individual  may  render 


113 


desirable  beyond  the  usual  course.  But  let  us  not  compel 
every  one  to  pass  through  this  course,  in  order  to  avoid  the 
stigma  of  ignorance.  It  is  this  which  obliges  our  institu- 
tions to  adopt  a  method  of  study  comparatively  superficial,  in 
order  to  diminish  the  weight  of  the  burden,  and  thus  in  effect 
lowers  the  standard  of  classical  instruction.  Let  us  have 
practical  schools  like  the  "Realschule"  of  Germany,  where 
science  and  modern  literature  may  be  pursued  by  those 
whose  time  or  other  circumstances  forbid  their  becoming 
classical  scholars. 

"Nor  do  I  propose  to  destroy  classification,  but  only  to 
regulate  it  by  a  natural,  instead  of  an  arbitrary  standard,  in 
accordance  with  the  simple  and  admirable  project  of  Pro- 
fessor Adrain.  A  class  should  be  composed  of  those  only 
who  have  not  the  knowledge  which  is  to  be  given,  and  who 
are  prepared  to  receive  it.  This  may  be  done  in  our 
colleges  by  subdividing  the  classes.  It  has  been  done  in 
Harvard  in  one  department,  and,  as  I  was  assured  by  Profes- 
sor Ticknor,  with  complete  success. 

"The  question  has  been  asked,  whether  if  the  "esprit 
du  corps"  of  a  class  were  diverted  in  this  manner,  it  would  not 
find  some  other  means  of  showing  itself?  I  can  reply,  that  I 
have  seen  it  diverted  to  other  and  excellent  purposes  with 
complete  effect  in  the  institution  of  Fellenberg,  by  adopt- 
ing the  principle  of  classifying  according  to  capacity  and 
attainments,  and  by  inspiring  the  love  of  knowledge,  which  is 

set  before  the  class  as  the  great  object  at  which  they  are  to 

15 


114 


aim.  They  are  made  to  feel  that  they  have  a  common 
interest  in  advancing  as  rapidly  as  possible.  They  feel 
assured  that  every  thing  which  retards  this  progress  shall  be 
avoided  or  removed,  that  they  shall  not  be  kept  back  by  the 
incorrigible  idleness  or  incapacity  of  any  individual.  The 
consequence  is  that  they  frown  upon  every  one  whose  faults 
or  negligence  interrupts  or  retards  their  lessons.  The  stron- 
ger aid  those  that  are  weaker,  as  long  as  there  is  any  hope 
of  their  keeping  pace  with  them,  and  when  they  must  be 
sent  to  another  class,  they  are  regarded  with  pity  rather 
than  contempt.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  all  are  actuated 
by  feelings  of  this  kind — but  the  prevailing  spirit  of  the 
institution  is  to  regard  involuntary  defects  of  mind,  as  they 
do  those  of  body,  and  not  to  despise  one  of  inferior  talents 
more  than  they  would  one  of  inferior  strength  or  stature. 
This  is  the  result  of  making  the  attainment  of  knowledge, 
and  not  of  honors,  the  aim — of  making  the  class-room  a 
scene  of  united  effort  for  improvement  instead  of  a  field  of 
contest  for  distinction.  There  is  no  such  brand  affixed  as 
in  our  colleges  to  two  thirds  of  a  class  if  having  no  appoint- 
ment— no  honor  which  often  palsies  their  efforts,  and  affects 
their  reputation  for  years." 

Dr.  Lieber  followed  in  favor  of  opening  the 
classes.     Dr.  Lieber  said, 

"The  gentleman  (Colonel  Knapp)  who  opened  this  dis- 
cussion, compared  the  system,  according  to  which  every 
pupil  in  a  college  advances  from  class  to  class,  according 


115 


to  his  efficiency,  proved  by  examination,  and  who  is  not 
obliged  to  remain  in  each  class  a  certain  fixed  time: — This 
system,  he  compared  to  a  great  race,  in  which  all  the 
boys  would  start,  with  imprudent  violence,  so  that  those 
who  were  in  advance  would  drop  down  long  before  the 
goal  was  reached.  Dr.  Lieber  willingly  adopted  this  com- 
parison, nothing  could  be  fiercer  than  the  emulation  of 
students,  ambitious  to  distinguish  themselves  in  science.  If 
the  gentleman  was  afraid  that  the  system  in  question 
would  drive  on  some  students,  like  imprudent  runners,  he 
(Dr.  Lieber)  was  rather  afraid  that  the  other  system  would 
have  the  same  effect  as  if  weights  were  tied  to  the  feet  of  the 
swiftest  runner,  so  that  the  best  were  kept  back  for  the  sake 
of  those  less  gifted;  whilst  at  the  same  time  the  least  gifted 
would  not  be  allowed  to  stay  longer  in  the  class,  but  would  be 
hurried  through  each  in  a  fixed  time:  every  body  very  well 
knows,  how  sad  an  effect  it  has  for  life,  if  a  pupil  or  student 
proceeds  without  having  attained  those  acquirements  neces- 
sary for  advancing  in  science.  The  gentleman  has  said 
that  it  would  make  the  pupils  uneasy,  they  would  look 
with  envy  at  each  other,  and  those  who  remain  behind 
would  perish . 

"As  to  the  first,  Dr.  Lieber  thought,  that  if  it  makes  the 
pupils  uneasy,  which  he  did  not  believe,  let  them  be  so. 
Boys  are  not  sent  to  the  college,  students  do  not  visit  the 
University  in  order  to  be  easy.  They  go  there  to  learn, 
ambition  makes  them  study  hard.  As  for  the  second  point, 
he  did  not  see  anything  more  in  such  a  system  than  what 


116 


we  find  throughout  life.  He  to  whom  nature  has  given 
talents,  whom  providence  has  endowed  with  greater  resources 
— advances,  generally  speaking,  through  life  before  others, 
and  it  would  be  nothing  less  than  finding  fault  with  the 
Creator  for  having  established  variety  in  his  world,  if  we 
should  complain  that  one  person  is  more  gifted  than  another. 
Shall  we  accustom  young  people  to  an  order  of  things,  they 
do  not  find  at  a  later  period  in  life?  But  Dr.  Lieber  wished 
to  state  a  fact,  which  in  his  opinion  would  defeat  at  once 
the  argument  of  the  gentleman  who  opened  the  subject.  In 
all  German  gymnasiums,  those  establishments  which  corres- 
pond with  our  colleges,  the  pupil  advances  according  to  his 
acquirements,  which  he  of  course  must  prove  by  an  exami- 
nation, held  half  yearly.  Of  course  the  opinion  of  his 
teachers,  whether  the  pupil  is  fit  to  advance  to  a  higher  class 
or  not,  is  of  great  weight,  as  it  ought  to  be.  Now  the  very 
Germans  are  known  for  their  bonhomie  and  good  nature,  and 
an  ill  tempered  disposition  cannot  therefore  be  the  conse- 
quence of  the  system  under  question.  Dr.  Lieber  was  not 
quite  sure  whether  this  system  had  been  adopted  in  all 
Catholic  German  schools,  but  he  was  perfectly  sure  that  it 
was  so  in  all  Protestant  gymnasiums.  The  gentleman  who 
led  this  discussion  was  also  alarmed,  lest  it  would  greatly 
impair  the  health  of  young  persons  if  they  were  allowed  to 
be  stimulated  by  their  ambition  to  go  quicker  through  a  class 
than  others;  Dr.  Lieber  thought  that  he  must  greatly  mis- 
take human  nature,  or  such  apprehension  was  unfounded. 
Indeed,  through  life  we  find,  not  that  we  must  restrain  people 
from  advancing  and  pressing  vigorously  forward  on  the  path 


117 


in  which  good  things  are  to  be  attained,  but  that  the  great 
fault  in  human  nature  is  relaxation  in  that  which  is  good. 
He  did  not  hesitate  one  moment  to  assert  that  it  would  be 
found  by  any  biographical  dictionary,  that  at  least  two  thirds 
of  all  distinguished  men,  have  early  advanced  before  their 
fellow  students,  have  laboured  with  great  diligence  to  get  on 
quickly,  and  Dr.  Lieber  remembered  an  able  article  in  a  num- 
ber of  the  American  Review,  in  which  it  was  shown  by 
frequent  instances  that  hard  study  appears  to  be  by  no  means 
injurious  to  health:  these  facts,  that  in  Germany,  a  coun- 
try in  which  so  much  has  been  done  for  education,  the  system 
had  altogether  been  abandoned  which  obliged  the  students 
to  remain  a  certain  time  in  each  class,  and  to  advance  in  a 
fixed  time  without  regard  to  the  pupil's  fitness,  and  that 
most  distinguished  men  had  begun  very  early  to  study 
hard — these  facts  seemed  to  him  irresistible." 

Rev.  Mr.  Gallaudet  followed  on  the  same  side. 
He  observed  that, 

"The  suggestions  which  he  was  about  to  make,  were  in- 
tended rather  to  bring  the  minds  of  the  Convention  to  some 
definite  points,  than  to  be  considered  as  the  expression  of  his 
own  opinions.  He  also  observed,  that  while  the  course  of 
studies  pursued  at  the  colleges  now  in  being,  may  be  well 
adapted  to  certain  wants  of  the  community,  it  was  still  a 
question  whether  there  were  not  other  exigencies  in  our  state 
of  society,  rendering  it  desirable  to  have  an  institution  in 
which  a  different  system  should  be  pursued.    With  these 


118 

explanations,  he  offered  the  following  hints: — Let  students 
enter  the  institution,  to  go  through  a  course  of  study  for  four 
years.  Let  certain  studies  be  prescribed  to  be  pursued  during 
the  Freshman  year,  some  of  these  to  be  attended  to  by  the 
whole  class:  with  regard  to  others,  a  choice  to  be  allowed, 
which,  when  made  by  the  student,  (the  parent  or  guardian 
sanctioning  it,)  to  be  binding  during  the  Freshman  year. 
The  same  plan  to  be  adopted  with  regard  to  the  studies  of 
the  three  succeeding  years. 

"Any  student  may  pursue  all  the  studies  prescribed,  if  he 
can  satisfy  his  instructers  of  his  ability,  both  intellectual  and 
physical,  to  do  this,  subject  to  monthly  examinations  before 
a  suitable  board  of  Examiners.  Those  students  who  shall 
have  pursued,  during  the  four  years,  the  studies  to  be  pursued 
by  all,  and  also  those  peculiar  ones  which  they  have  chosen 
at  the  commencement  of  each  year,  after  an  examination, 
shall  receive  the  usual  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  Those 
who  shall  have  pursued  the  common  studies,  and  the  pecu- 
liar ones  also,  shall  receive,  after  a  satisfactory  examination, 
the  usual  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  with  the  accompanying 
testimonial  of  their  peculiar  proficiency. 

"Any  student,  at  the  expiration  of  the  third  year,  may  ap- 
ply for  the  privilege  of  being  examined  in  those  studies  which 
are  required  for  a  Bachelor's  degree,  and  if  he  passes  a  satis- 
factory examination,  which  shall  always  be  a  very  rigid  one, 
he  shall  receive  this  degree.  Such  a  course  would  be  less 
likely  to  produce  injury  to  health,  than  the  present  course 


119 

pursued  at  our  colleges.  There  are  now  powerful  stimulants 
to  effort,  and  especially  is  over  exertion  made  by  those  who 
have  a  very  ambitious  spirit,  accompanied  with  but  moderate 
intellectual  capacity. 

"More  teachers  would  doubtless  be  necessary  on  this  plan, 
but  this  appears  to  be  the  only  radical  difficulty  in  carrying  it 
into  effect;  and  for  the  accomplishment  of  such  important 
objects,  are  there  not  resources  enough  in  this  country  to 
overcome  this  difficulty." 

Mr.  Hasler  offered  a  few  remarks. 

President  Marsh  addressed  the  meeting  in 
favor  of  sustaining  the  systems  heretofore  pur- 
sued, and  advocating  the  adherence  to  tried  and 
well  known  courses. 

Mr.  J.  Sparks  stated  the  practice  pursued  in 
Harvard  University,  and  offered  opinions  favora- 
ble to  opening  the  classes. 

Dr.  Emory  rose  to  inquire,  whether  difficulties 
did  not  arise  in  some  colleges  from  classification, 
growing  out  of  sectional  feeling. 

Professor  Silliman  replied  to  the  inquiry,  and 


120 

gave  an  account  of  sectional  feelings  once  exhibi- 
ted, but  which  have  now  subsided  in  Yale  college. 
He  stated  that, 

"There  are  among  the  undergraduates  three  literary  so- 
cieties, two  of  them  ancient,  and  one  modern;  the  latter 
the  Calliopean,  instituted  about  a  dozen  years  since;  at  first 
it  was  sectional  in  fact,  although  it  was  not  known  to  be 
so  in  its  constitution,  which,  like  that  of  the  other  societies,  is 
kept  secret.  At  first,  however,  none  but  persons  from  places 
south  of  New  England  were  admitted  into  the  Calliopean 
Society,  and  while  that  was  the  case,  the  government  felt 
some  objections  to  it,  because  in  periods  of  excitement,  it 
tended  to  cherish  a  local  spirit. 

"The  society  had  for  some  years,  in  fact,  relinquished  its 
sectional  character,  and  had  shown  its  good  sense,  by  extend- 
ing its  wings  over  the  whole  country;  that  its  members 
were  no  longer  confined  to  the  south,  and  that  the  govern- 
ment no  longer  felt  any  objection  to  the  society;  that  its 
members  are  ambitious  to  distinguish  themselves  as  scholars 
and  gentlemen,  and  to  collect  a  fine  library;  that  all  the 
societies  are  viewed  by  the  faculty,  as  having  a  happy  effect 
in  advancing  the  literary  improvement  of  the  students,  and 
that  they  are  all  regarded  with  equal  favor." 

Rev.  Mr.  Colton  followed,  expressing  a  decided 
opinion,  as  to  the  necessity  of  promoting  emula- 
tion in  classes. 


121 

Professor  Adrain  stated  his  experience,  which 
did  not  lead  him  to  believe  that  the  objections 
against  the  present  system  of  classification,  were 
sufficient  to  warrant  any  change. 

Rev.  Mr.  Gallaudet  rose,  to  show  a  seeming 
want  of  consistency  between  the  alleged  prac- 
tice of  some  colleges,  and  the  hesitation  to  open 
the  classes,  for  as  had  been  stated,  a  student  may 
enter  the  Sophomore  or  Junior  class,  and  by  a 
residence  of  one  or  two  years  obtain  his  degree  ; 
why  not  then,  he  argued,  permit  the  same  privi- 
lege to  a  student  who,  by  his  industry,  can  in 
three  years'  residence  in  the  college,  qualify  him- 
self therefor. 

An  invitation  was  presented  from  the  Trustees 
of  Clinton  Hall,  to  accept  their  Lecture  Room 
for  the  better  accommodation  of  the  Convention. 

On  motion  made  and  seconded,  the  invitation 
was  referred  to  the  committee  of  arrangements. 

The  following  topic  was  then  handed  in  for 
discussion. 

16 


122 

No.  15.  "  What  are  the  best  expedients  to  se- 
cure the  great  objects  of  physical  education,  in 
connexion  with  intellectual  and  moral." 

The  Convention  adjourned  to  meetatfiveo'clock, 
in  the  afternoon. 


Afternoon  Session. 

The  President  took  the  chair,  and  called  the 
meeting  to  order. 

The  committee  of  arrangements,  to  whom  was 
referred  the  invitation  of  the  Trustees  of  Clinton 
Hall,  reported  the  following  preamble  and  resolu- 
tions. 

"  An  invitation  having  been  received  from  the 
Trustees  of  Clinton  Hall,  generously  offering  the 
use  of  their  Lecture  Room  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  this  Convention, 

"  Resolved,  that  the  thanks  of  this  Convention  be 


123 

returned  to  the  Trustees  of  Clinton  Hall,  for  their 
polite  offer,  at  the  same  time  informing  them  that 
under  the  present  circumstances,  it  will  be  most 
convenient  for  this  Convention  to  continue  its  ses- 
sions in  the  Chamber  generously  granted  them 
for  the  purpose  by  the  Honorable  the  Corporation 
of  the  city. 

Resolved,  that  the  Trustees  of  Clinton  Hall 
be  requested  to  attend  the  meetings  of  this  Con- 
vention and  unite  in  its  deliberations." 

On  motion  made  and  seconded,  the  proposition 
was  accepted,  and  the  Secretary  was  instructed 
to  transmit  a  copy  thereof  to  the  Trustees  of 
Clinton  Hall. 

A  paper  was  then  presented,  entitled,  "  Plan  of 
a  University  to  be  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the 
poorer  classes."  By  request,  the  paper  was  read, 
and  on  motion,  the  thanks  of  the  Convention  were 
given  to  the  author. 

The  Hon.  E.  Root,  of  Delaware  county,  N.  Y. 
was  introduced  and  took  his  seat, — also  Mr.  Elliott 
Cresson,  from  Philadelphia. 


124 

The  discussion  in  relation  to  "  confining  stu- 
dents to  their  classes,  or  allowing  them  to  gra- 
duate when  found  prepared  on  examination,"  was 
resumed. 

President  Cushing,  of  Prince  Edward  College, 
addressed  the  meeting,  stating  the  course  of  study 
in  relation  to  degrees,  as  practised  in  Prince  Ed- 
ward College.  The  students  having  the  privilege 
of  graduating  as  early  as  they  may  be  found  pre- 
pared, on  examination. 

President  Bates,  of  Vermont,  followed,  in  favor 
of  maintaining  the  usual  course  pursued  by  the 
older  colleges  of  our  country,  and  advocating  the 
adherence  to  tried,  and  well  known  systems. 

Mr.  Sparks  presented  a  view  of  the  relative 
value  of  diplomas,  in  this  country  and  in  Europe, 
shewing  that  as  they  are  now  estimated  in  the 
United  States,  they  appear  to  be  of  little  value. 

Dr.  Lieber  stated  that, 

"It  would  not  be  unimportant  to  look  at  the  history — the 
origin  of  that  system  which  now  prevails  in  American  col- 


125 


leges  in  regard  to  the  distribution  of  the  degrees,  as  well  as  in 
respect  of  the  advancement  from  one  class  to  another; 
because  to  him  the  former  seemed  to  be  a  continuation  of 
the  latter  only,  and  therefore  intimately  connected  with  each 
other.  He  believed  that  no  where  in  America  this  system 
had  been  established  in  consequence  of  a  free  investigation  of 
its  nature.  It  seemed  to  him  rather  of  a  traditional  charac- 
ter. The  Americans  had  adopted  this  system  like  so  many 
other  things,  from  England,  and  in  that  country  this 
system  was  of  a  Catholic  origin.  Not  that  it  was  in  itself 
either  Catholic  or  Protestant,  but  most  colleges  originated  in 
Catholic  times,  and  were  chartered  in  such  a  way  that  any 
material  change  in  them  was  connected  with  great  difficulties. 
Before  the  reformation  most,  perhaps  all  colleges  and  schools 
were  established  on  the  plan,  that  only  a  fixed  time,  during 
which  a  pupil  had  been  in  a  class,  could  qualify  him  to  advance 
to  the  next  one.  This  plan,  according  to  his  knowledge, 
was  followed  to  this  day  in  all  Catholic  countries  except 
France,  in  which  the  revolution  had  produced  so  many 
changes.  In  Germany  the  reformation,  causing  that  great 
liberty  in  science,  changed  also  this  system.  Liberty  in 
science  as  well  as  in  religion  and  politics  is  the  consequence 
of  civilization,  and  just  as  formerly,  a  certain  time  of  appren- 
ticeship was  required  before  a  person  could  exercise  a  certain 
trade  or  art ;  thus  a  similar  system,  in  which  time  was  the  only 
test  for  advancement,  prevailed  respecting  science.  In  Ger- 
man Protestant  Universities  the  degree  of  Doctor  only  exists 
at  present;  at  least  that  of  Master  of  Arts  is  very  rarely 


126 


sought  for,  and  neither  is  granted  except  after  examination. 
Thus  a  certain  meaning  is  attached  in  that  country  to 
these  titles,  which  he  could  not  see  connected  with  most  of 
the  degrees  granted  by  American  colleges,  merely  in  con- 
sequence of  a  certain  time  which  a  person  had  spent  in  a 
college.  Dr.  Lieber  repeated  that  this  way  of  granting  degrees 
seemed  to  have  much  of  the  character  of  the  ancient  corpora- 
tions for  mechanical  arts  and  other  trades  and  professions, 
and  that  it  certainly  had  its  origin  at  the  same  time  with 
them;  he  expressed  his  anxious  wish  that  if  degrees 
should  be  established  in  the  new  University,  they  would  not 
merely  be  a  matter  of  form;  but  that  such  distinction  only 
should  be  granted  after  a  person  had  shown  himself  fit  for  it. 
How  could  time  be  the  test  of  distinctions  or  degrees  in 
science  and  literature,  when  no  person  would  trust  to  time 
alone  in  mechanical  arts.  It  was  not  unfrequent,  in  former 
times,  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  that  a  person  was  obliged 
to  be  an  apprentice  for  seven  years  in  a  trade,  before  he 
could  be  made  a  journeyman,  which  every  one  will  admit, 
could  be  learned  in  much  less  time.  At  present  these  forms 
are  done  away,  and  people  now  see  whether  a  person  is  fit 
to  accomplish  the  labor  required;  if  so,  they  do  not  care 
much,  how  long  he  had  been  an  apprentice: — to  make  time 
the  test  of  acquirement  was,  in  his  opinion,  the  remains  of 
ruder  times,  which  always  checks  free,  easy  intercourse  by 
forms  and  outward  restraints." 

Dr.   Emory   avowed   himself  in   favor   of  the 
system  pursued  by  our  older  colleges. 


127 

Professor  Adrain  expressed  his  difficulty  to 
account  for  the  few  in  number,  who  sought  to  be 
advanced  in  the  college  course  for  a  degree. 

Rev.  Cyrus  Mason  replied — alleging  that  the 
cause  was  to  be  found  in  the  present  prescribed 
courses,  and  in  the  system  of  classification. 

Mr.  Keating  rose  to  express  his  acquiescence  in 
the  views  of  Mr.  Mason,  on  the  difficulty  which  a 
student  has  in  getting  sufficiently  ahead  of  his 
class,  to  pass  into  a  more  advanced  one.  He 
thought  both  the  speakers  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  room  (Professor  Adrain,  and  Mr.  Mason,) 
had  not  alluded  to  the  want  of  assistance,  under 
which  the  student  labored.  He  might  have  talent 
to  advance,  and  industry  to  attempt  it;  but  he  had 
no  one  to  guide  him,  and  to  facilitate  his  studies  ; 
there  was  no  one  in  the  institution,  whose  duty  it 
was  to  give  that  assistance.  Mr.  K.  did  not  in- 
tend any  reflection  upon  the  character  of  profes- 
sors in  general,  or  upon  their  desire  to  promote 
the  advancement  of  the  youths  committed  to  their 
care;  when  he  stated  that  students  so  situated, 
found  no  one  in  our  colleges,  as  at  present  organ- 
ized, disposed  to  assist  them.     Those  gentlemen 


128 

had  already  very  arduous  tasks  to  perform,  and  it 
was  not  fair  to  expect  of  them,  to  volunteer  to 
devote  extra  hours  to  the  advancement  of  their 
more  zealous  pupils.  Indeed,  perhaps,  they  could 
not  in  many  cases  do  so,  without  encroaching 
upon  that  time,  which,  even  the  most  experienced 
and  learned  scholars,  must  devote  to  private  study. 
But  in  the  establishment  of  a  new  institution,  of  a 
higher  grade  of  usefulness,  it  might  be  a  question, 
whether  provision  should  or  not,  be  made  to  meet 
this  exigency?  For  his  part,  he  believed,  not- 
withstanding the  able  arguments  he  had  heard  in 
favor  of  detaining  young  men,  in  what  had  been 
termed  a  classical  atmosphere,  that  it  was  the 
interest  and  duty  of  every  institution,  to  enable 
its  students  to  get  through  it,  in  as  short  a  time  as 
was  consistent  with  a  proper  knowledge  of  the 
subjects  intended  to  be  taught. 

While  he  was  up,  he  would  take  the  liberty  to 
offer  to  the  meeting,  a  few  observations  on  a  point 
connected  with  the  question  of  classification,  which 
he  believed  had  escaped  the  attention  of  the  gen- 
tlemen who  had  furnished  so  much  interesting 
matter,  in  relation  to  the  institutions  of  Germany. 
His  experience  of  them,  had  been  partly  acquired 


129 

in  Saxony  ;  in  a  college  which  adhered  but  par- 
tially to  the  division  into  classes.  This  system 
being  restricted  to  the  pupils  of  the  king,  or  to 
those  who  were  natives  of  Saxony  ;  while  the  fo- 
reign students,  including  those  from  other  parts  of 
Germany,  were  allowed  to  follow  their  own  incli- 
nation in  the  selection  of  their  studies.  The  min- 
ing school  of  Freyberg,  in  Saxony,  had  acquired 
great  renown  from  the  ability  of  its  teachers,  but 
especially  from  the  distinguished  talents  of  Wer- 
ner. To  it  flocked,  for  nearly  half  a  century, 
pupils  from  all  parts  of  Germany,  as  well  as  from 
other  countries  in  Europe,  and  even  some  from 
America.  The  Saxon  Alumni  of  the  school  were 
numerous  ;  yet  he  thought  few  had  ever  acquired 
great  distinction  in  science — and  while  the  pupils 
of  Werner  filled  professorships  of  mineralogy  in 
Stockholm,  Edinburgh,  Paris,  Berlin,  Vienna  and 
most  other  institutions  in  Europe,  nay,  even  those 
in  Spanish  America,  yet  when  that  great  man 
died,  there  was  not  found  among  his  numerous 
pupils  in  Saxony,  one  able  to  succeed  to  his  chair, 
and  the  Saxon  government  found  itself  obliged  to 
bestow  it  upon  a  foreigner,  upon  an  Austrian. 
This  fact,  Mr.  K.  considered  as  bearing  strongly 

upon  the  merits  of  the  question  that  had  been 

17 


130 

under  discussion.  He  would  not  permit  himself  to 
doubt  the  talents  of  the  Saxons  in  general,  they 
were  too  well  established  in  other  respects  ;  but 
he  believed  the  deficiency  arose  in  this  case,  from 
the  imperfect  education  which  the  Saxon  pupils 
received,  they  being  bound  down  to  the  old  rou- 
tine of  division  into  classes,  from  which  all  fo- 
reigners were  exempt.  Mr.  K.  did  not  wish  to  be 
considered  as  advocating  a  departure  from  classi- 
fication, in  youths  of  the  age  of  those  that  generally 
frequent  our  colleges  ;  but  as  he  believed  that  our 
collegiate  education  was  equal  to  that  of  any 
nation  in  Europe,  his  observations  were  intended  to 
apply  to  pupils  of  a  higher  grade,  to  such  as  he 
hoped  it  was  in  contemplation  to  instruct  in  any 
new  University,  about  to  be  established.  Experi- 
ence clearly  showed  that  young  men  of  from  four- 
teen to  eighteen,  were  not  the  best  judges  of  their 
own  talents,  or  aptitude  for  certain  branches,  and 
it  was  doubtless  desirable  that  they  should  be  de- 
vided  into  classes,  and  made  to  attend  to  studies 
which  might  not  at  first  please  them.  But  the 
case  was  widely  different  with  students  of  a  more 
advanced  age.  The  learned  President,  (Dr. 
Bates)  in  supporting  the  other  side  of  the  ques- 
tion, had  very  justly  observed  that  it  was  not  so 


131 

much  the  accumulation  of  knowledge  that  was 
desirable,  as  its  proper  reception  into  the  mind. 
Information,  if  acquired  by  mere  accretion  with- 
out assimilation,  was  of  little  avail;  but  in  order 
that  there  should  be  assimilation,  there  must  be 
digestion;  and  this  could  not  take  place  when  the 
study  produced  rather  disgust  than  pleasure;  all 
experience  proved  that  there  were  certain  minds 
that  could  not  adapt  themselves  to  all  studies; 
and  after  the  fact  had  been  well  ascertained,  not 
by  a  hasty,  but  by  a  cautious  investigation  of  the 
powers — the  idiosyncrasies,  of  each  individual,  it 
would  be  folly  to  insist  upon  his  continuing  to 
devote  time  to  pursuits  which  suited  neither  his 
inclination  nor  his  talents.  Eighteen  was  per 
haps  about  the  average  age,  at  which  such  a 
discrimination  might  be  expected,  in  a  well  con- 
stituted and  well  educated  youth;  and  therefore, 
if  an  institution  of  a  higher  order  than  our  ordi- 
nary colleges  was  contemplated,  it  would,  he  be- 
lieved, be  desirable  to  adopt  in  it  this  principle. 
That  such  would  be  the  character  of  the  proposed 
institution,  he  sincerely  hoped.  For  the  purpose 
of  educating  youths  under  eighteen,  our  colleges 
were  probably,  on  an  average,  equal  to  similar 
institutions  in  Europe,  whatever  might  be  their 


132 

names.  The  information  obtained  from  gentle- 
men conversant  with  the  Gymnasia  of  Germany, 
the  Lyceums  of  France,  and  the  High  Schools  of 
Eton,  Harrow  or  Westminster,  in  England,  con- 
curred with  his  own  observations,  satisfactorily  to 
establish  this  fact.  But  we  have  nothing  of  a 
higher  grade,  in  the  United  States,  (the  Military 
Academy,  at  West  Point,  being  of  course  out  of 
the  question.)  Yet  the  condition  of  our  country 
is  such,  as  amply  to  call  for  it.  Our  colleges 
afford  no  facilities  to  those  young  men  who,  either 
from  the  affluence  of  their  circumstances,  or  from 
their  thirst  after  knowledge,  are  disposed  to  de- 
vote a  few  additional  years  to  the  acquisition  of  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  any  one  department  of 
science  or  literature.  The  number  of  these  young 
men  is  already  great;  it  is  daily  increasing,  and 
it  is  certainly  desirable  that  they  should  find,  at 
home,  those  facilities  which  they  are  now  obliged 
to  seek  abroad. 

The  discussion  on  this  topic  being  discontinued, 
the  Committee  of  arrangements  produced  the  fol- 
lowing topic  for  discussion. 

No.  7.  The  necessity  for  "improved,  and  more 
extensive  means  for  educating  classical  teachers." 


133 

Mr.  H.  E.  Dwight,  from  New  Haven,  address- 
ed the  meeting,  in  substance,  as  follows: 

"As  I  wasn  ot  aware  that  this  subject  would  be  proposed 
at  this  time,  I  am  under  the  necessity  of  presenting  those 
thoughs  which  first  occur  to  my  mind.  I  must  therefore  beg 
the  indulgence  of  the  Convention,  if  the  remarks  I  shall 
make,  should  not  exhibit  that  connection,  which  under  other 
circumstances  would  be  expected  of  me. 

"That  more  extensive  means  for  the  education  of  classical 
teachers  are  necessary,  no  one  of  us  I  presume  will  deny. 
The  only  diversity  of  opinion  will,  probably,  be  in  relation  to 
the  manner  in  which  this  change  is  to  be  effected.  But  two 
modes  now  present  themselves  to  my  mind;  the  first  by 
extending  the  foundation  on  which  the  classical  departments 
of  our  colleges  rest;  the  other,  by  establishing  schools  for  the 
express  purpose  of  educating  classical  teachers.  Such  schools, 
as  far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  do  not  exist  in  any  part  of 
Europe.  There  are,  however,  seminaries  for  the  education 
of  the  instructers  of  the  common  schools,  in  most  of  the 
states  of  Northern  Germany.  As  the  system  of  instruction 
adopted  in  those  schools  has  been  much  admired,  it  may  not 
be  unadvisable  to  contemplate  them  for  a  moment,  as  their 
actual  condition,  and  the  influence  they  exert,  may  throw 
some  light  on  the  present  question. 

"In  the  countries  which  have  been  referred  to,  there  are 
one  or  more  seminaries  in  every  province  where  young 


134 


men  assemble,  in  order  to  acquire,  not  merely  a  knowledge 
of  the  elementary  branches  of  education,  but  also  the  best 
manner  of  communicating  this  knowledge  to  their  pupils. 
Here  they  reside  a  number  of  years,  and  they  are  not  permit- 
ted to  leave  these  institutions,  until  they  have  acquired  a 
knowledge  of  every  branch  essential  to  an  elementary  instruc- 
tor of  youth.  These  seminaries  are  under  the  direction  of 
the  consistory  of  each  department;  some  of  whose  members 
often  visit  them,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  character 
of  these  schools,  and  observing  the  attainments  of  the  pupils, 
as  well  as  to  provide  a  remedy  for  any  evils  which  may  exist. 
Into  these  institutions,  as  well  as  into  the  common  schools, 
no  work  is  introduced  without  the  approbation  of  the  consis- 
tory, and  no  one  of  the  pupils  is  permitted  to  become  a 
teacher,  until  having  passed  an  examination,  he  is  found 
qualified  for  that  station.  As  the  members  of  the  consistory 
are  distinguished  for  their  attainments  in  literature  and 
science,  the  Northern  Germans  are  exempted  from  many 
evils  which  exist  in  the  elementary  schools  of  most  countries. 

"The  beneficial  effects  resulting  from  this  system  of  in- 
struction, are  every  where  visible  in  those  countries.  Instruc- 
ted thoroughly  qualified  to  take  charge  of  the  common 
schools,  are  thus  educated  under  the  direction  of  the  govern- 
ments ;  and  places  are  assigned  to  them  as  rapidly  as  vacancies 
occur.  An  uniform  system  of  education  has  thus  been 
introduced,  and  although  defects  may  exist,  still  the  evils  are 
much  less  numerous,  than  in  those  countries  where  every 
one,  whether  qualified  or  not,  is  permitted  to  become  an 
instructer. 


135 


"A  similar  system  introduced  into  our  country,  for  the 
purpose  of  educating  classical  teachers,  would  be  followed 
by  the  happiest  results.  It  would  gradually  eradicate  that 
system  of  superficial  instruction  so  general  in  the  grammar 
schools  of  the  United  States,  and  classical  literature  woidd 
acquire  that  influence,  which  it  has  so  long  enjoyed  in 
Europe.  The  want  of  competent  teachers  is  one  of  the 
principal  reasons,  why  the  classics  have  been  studied  with  so 
little  enthusiasm  in  our  country.  Teaching  with  us,  is  in 
most  instances  a  secondary  employment,  one  which  the  gra- 
duates of  our  colleges  embrace  for  a  few  years,  and  then 
abandon  forever.  Even  while  thus  occupied,  their  profes- 
sional studies  are  the  most  interesting  objects  presented  to 
their  view,  engrossing  most  of  their  thoughts.  Their  limi- 
ted resources  compel  them  to  devote  several  years  to  this 
employment,  and  when  they  have  learned  a  little  of  the  art 
of  teaching,  which,  in  truth,  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  arts 
ever  acquired,  they  resign  their  places  to  those  who  are  still 
younger,  and  who  have  had  less  experience  than  themselves. 
Education  has  consequently  never  become  a  distinct  profes- 
sion in  the  United  States,  but  a  stepping-stone  to  one  of  the 
learned  professions.  In  consequence  of  this,  instructers  are 
less  respected  in  our  country7  than  in  any  other,  and  few  men 
of  talents  are  willing  to  devote  their  lives  to  teaching,  or  even 
to  pursue  it  longer  than  their  necessities  compel  them,  unless 
there  is  a  prospect  of  obtaining  a  place  in  some  of  our  colleges. 

"If  classical  seminaries,  like  those  we  have  contemplated, 
could  be  established  in  every  state,  the  complaints  which 


136 


now  exist  on  this  subject,  would  seldom  be  heard.  A  separate 
department  has  not  been  thought  necessary  in  Germany, 
where  for  a  long  period  have  been  found  the  most  dis- 
tinguished classical  teachers  of  Europe.  The  Universities  of 
that  country  present  to  the  student  every  facility  for  ac- 
quiring a  thorough  knowledge  of  Greek  and  Roman  litera- 
ture, which  could  be  found  in  schools  expressly  organized  for 
this  object.  As  the  literary  character  of  every  country  de- 
pends so  much  on  its  classical  institutions,  I  will  dwell  for  a 
few  moments,  on  the  present  state  of  the  classical  schools  of 
Germany. 

"The  German  youth  commence  the  study  of  the  classics 
as  soon  as  they  enter  the  Gymnasia  of  that  country.  In 
these  schools  they  are  daily  drilled,  until  they  become  fami- 
liar with  the  construction  and  idioms  of  the  Greek  and  Latin 
languages.  They  are  then  taught  to  write  Latin  and  Greek, 
and  to  speak  the  former  language  with  great  facility.  The 
instructer  reads  a  passage  from  some  German  classic,  which 
they  immediately  translate  into  Latin.  Having  acquired  this 
facility  in  writing  Latin  prose,  they  are  taught  to  write  Latin 
poetry,  and  some  of  the  students  have  such  a  knowledge  of 
the  idioms  and  the  prosody  of  that  language,  as  to  translate 
an  ode  of  Schiller  or  Klopstock  into  Latin  verse,  with  an  ease 
and  rapidity,  rarely,  if  ever  seen  in  any  other  country.  They 
then  study  the  classics  exegetically,  as  no  student  is  thought 
qualified  to  enter  a  University  without  being  able  to  present 
an  exegetical  view  of  at  least  some  of  the  works  he  has  pe- 
rused.   To  accomplish  this,  they  study  the  geography,  anti- 


137 


quities,  religion,  law,  history,  state  of  society,  manners  and 
customs  of  Greece  and  Rome;  and  examine  their  institutions 
and  the  influence  they  exerted  on  the  character  of  those 
nations,  that  they  may  he  enabled  in  perusing  the  classics, 
to  place  themselves  in  the  situation  of  the  authors  at  the  time 
they  wrote,  and  of  the  people  for  whom  their  works  were 
written.  By  pursuing  this  course  for  one  or  more  years,  they 
acquire  an  enthusiasm,  which  is  never  seen  in  any  other 
school  of  Europe. 

"In  some  of  these  institutions  which  I  have  visited,  the 
pupils  who  are  qualified,  are  allowed  to  take  the  attitude  of 
instructers  during  the  recitation.  Here  one  of  them  reads  a 
Latin  dissertation  on  the  ode  or  poem  which  is  the  subject  of 
investigation.  In  these  dissertations,  he  inquires  who  was 
the  author,  when,  where,  at  what  time,  and  under  what 
circumstances  was  the  work  written.  The  poem  is  then 
explained  exegetically.  If  the  explanations  given  are  not 
correct  in  the  opinion  of  the  Teacher,  he  calls  upon  the  class 
to  point  out  the  error.  When  thus  addressed,  half  of  their 
number  will  sometimes  elevate  their  hands,  and  fixing  their 
eyes  on  the  instructer,  endeavour  to  attract  his  attention. 
When  one  of  them  is  called  upon  to  explain  the  passage,  he 
does  it  in  Latin,  the  writer  of  the  dissertation  being  allowed 
to  defend  his  own  interpretation  A  literary  discussion  is 
thus  introduced,  which  is  carried  on  by  these  youthful  com- 
batants, with  an  ardour,  and  an  enthusiasm,  not  surpassed 
in  the  controversies  of  those,  who  are  much  their  superiors  in 

age  and  attainments. 

18 


138 


"This  thorough  instruction  prepares  the  German  youth  to 
attend  the  lectures  of  the  Universities,  and  study  higher 
criticism  with  great  success.  Here  they  remain  three  years, 
constantly  pursuing  classical  literature.  The  lectures  of  the 
university  unfold  most  of  the  beauties  of  the  poetry  of 
Greece  and  Rome,  and  under  the  guidance  of  such  men  as 
are  found  in  most  of  these  institutions,  the  students  at  the 
end  of  three  years,  become  admirably  qualified  to  teach  in 
the  Gymnasia.  A  large  number  of  classical  teachers  is  thus 
provided  for  the  schools  of  Germany,  and  as  there  are  more 
applicants  than  vacancies,  every  motive  which  can  be  desired, 
is  presented  to  them,  to  qualify  themselves  for  their  future 
stations. 

"The  German  schools  have  acquired  this  superiority' 
without  any  separate  institutions  for  the  educationof  classical 
teachers.  Such  an  institution  does  not  appear  to  me  to  be 
necessary  in  the  contemplated  University  of  this  city,  provi- 
ded it  shall  assume  the  character  of  an  European  institution. 
In  those  of  Germany  there  are  from  eight  to  twelve  profes- 
sors and  teachers  of  Greek  and  Roman  literature.  One 
Greek  Professor  lectures  on  Aeschylus,  another  on  Euripides 
a  third  on  Aristophanes,  or  Homer,  or  Demosthenes.  As 
most  of  them  give  two  or  three  courses  of  lectures  at  the 
same  time,  a  lecturer  on  one  of  the  tragic  poets,  will  also 
give  another  series  of  lectures  on  the  grammar,  the  accents, 
or  the  metre  of  the  Greek  language.  The  most  important 
branches  of  philology  and  literature  are  thus  examined,  by 
the  aid  of  experienced  guides,  who  are  capable  of  explaining 


139 


most  of  the  difficulties,  which  time  and  distance  have  thrown 
in  the  way  of  the  student.  As  the  Professors  are  principally 
dependent  on  their  lectures  for  subsistence,  the  utmost  rivalry 
exists  among  them,  and  the  most  beneficial  effects  result  to 
the  students,  and  to  the  cause  of  literature. 

"If  the  contemplated  University  of  New  York  should  be 
placed  on  a  broad  foundation,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  have 
a  separate  department  for  the  education  of  classical  teachers. 
If  the  Greek  and  Latin  departments  should  assume  that  pro- 
minent character,  which  they  exhibit  in  the  Universities  I 
have  referred  to,  there  will  be  every  thing  provided,  that  the 
classical  student  can  desire.  Graduates  after  leaving  the 
colleges  of  the  United  States,  usually  abandon  their  classical 
studies,  because  there  are  no  Universities  to  which  they  can 
resort,  and  attend  lectures  on  the  higher  branches  of  classical 
literature.  If  this  University  should  in  this  respect  equal  the 
ardent  hopes,  and  may  I  not  add  the  expectations  of  its 
friends,  many  of  the  graduates  of  our  colleges  will  visit  it  for 
the  purpose  of  pursuing  criticism,  and  we  shall  ere  long  see 
some  of  that  enthusiasm,  for  classical  literature,  which  is 
now  so  visible  in  Germany. 

"The  friends  of  literature  throughout  the  Union,  are  look- 
ing with  intense  interest  towards  this  University.  They  are 
ardently  desirous  to  see  it  placed  on  that  broad  foundation, 
which  the  size  and  wealth  of  the  city  and  state  of  New 
York,  and  the  extent  and  power  of  our  country  demand. 
They  are  fully  aware,  that  its  influence  will  not  be  confined 


140 


to  this  metropolis,  but  that  it  will  be  felt  throughout  our  great 
republic. 

"Those  of  us  who  have  visited  France,  have  often  seen 
and  felt  the  truth  of  the  remark,  that  Paris  is  the  heart  of 
that  kingdom,  while  the  late  revolution  has  shown  conclu- 
sively, that  the  beatings  of  that  heart,  have  been  felt  and 
answered  by  the  pulsations  of  the  most  distant  provinces. 
Though  New  York  is  not  now  the  heart  of  the  United 
States,  it  will  become  so  at  no  distant  period.  The  fifty 
steamboats  which  enter  this  port,  are  bringing  more  than 
a  thousand  strangers  daily  to  this  metropolis.  The  canals 
and  rail  roads  which  we  are  now  constructing,  will  soon 
greatly  increase  the  intercourse  between  this  city  and  every 
part  of  the  Union.  As  the  population  and  wealth  of  New 
York  increase,  its  influence  will  be  greatly  augmented,  and 
the  time  is  not  far  distant,  when  it  will  exert  that  sway  over 
the  public  mind,  which  the  great  cities  of  Europe  have 
so  long  enjoyed.  Let  this  Univeristy  then  be  placed  on  a 
broad  foundation,  one  which  shall  equal  the  wants  of  our 
great  country;  not  our  country  as  it  now  is,  but  as  it  will 
be  half  a  century  from  this  period.  Some  thousands  are 
added  to  our  population  every  week,  and  some  of  us  may 
live  to  see  the  day,  when  it  will  be  more  numerous  than  that 
of  the  Russian  empire.  As  our  population  becomes  more 
dense,  there  must  be  a  greater  division  of  mental  as  well  as 
of  physical  labor,  and  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  country,  our 
literary  institutions  must  be  remodelled,  or  new  ones  must  be 
established. 


141 


"The  feeling  is  very  general  in  the  United  States,  that  we 
need  a  University  like  those  of  Germany.  The  present 
time  is  peculiarly  favorable  to  try  the  experiment.  Our 
country  is  now  in  its  youth,  and  fortunately  we  have  not  to 
encounter  prejudices  which  have  been  gaining  strength  for 
many  centuries.  The  present  generation  must  provide  for 
the  wants  of  those  which  are  to  come;  their  fortunes  are 
entrusted  to  us,  and  it  is  for  us  to  decide  whether  they  shall 
assume  that  elevated  character  in  literature  and  morals,  wh  ich 
is  so  essential  to  our  national  prosperity.  Let  such  a  Uni- 
versity, as  those  we  have  just  contemplated,  be  established  in 
this  city,  and  the  sympathies  of  all  the  friends  of  literature 
will  be  enlisted  in  its  favour.  It  will  become  the  prominent 
object  of  interest  to  every  stranger  visiting  this  metropolis,  and 
from  its  walls  the  light  of  science  and  learning  will  be  shed, 
not  only  over  our  great  country,  but  over  our  mighty  con- 
tinent. With  intense  interest  shall  we  observe  its  growth 
and  its  increasing  influence,  and  as  we  behold  its  blessings 
widening  and  deepening  with  every  succeeding  year,  we 
shall  remember  with  gratitude  those  who  have  been  instru- 
mental in  its  formation,  and  enrol  their  names  among  the 
benefactors  of  mankind." 

Dr.  Mathews,  from  the  committee  of  invitation, 
stated  that,  as  the  course  and  plan  of  the  proposed 
University  in  the  city  of  New  York,  had  been  fre- 
quently alluded  to  in  the  debates  of  the  day,  he 
begged  to  state,  that  the  discussions  proposed  by 
the  committee,  were  expected  to  have  a  bearing 


142 

on  all  seminaries  of  learning  in  our  country;  to 
cover  generally  the  interests  of  letters,  and  liberal 
education;  that  in  relation  to  the  University  of 
this  city,  the  council  hoped  (and  their  hopes 
were  thus  far  fulfilled)  to  gather  wisdom  and  ex- 
perience from  this  Convention,  on  which  they 
might  better  construct  the  system  to  be  pursued 
in  the  New  Institution. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  to  meet  at  10 
o'clock,  on  Friday  morning,  the  22d  instant. 

J.  Delafield,  Secretary. 


143 


New  York,  Friday,  22d  October,  1830. 

Pursuant  to  adjournment,  the  Convention  as- 
sembled this  day  at  10  o'clock,  when  the  meeting 
was  opened  with  an  appropriate  prayer  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Yates,  of  Chittenango, — President  Bates 
in  the  chair,  supported  by  the  Honorable  Albert 
Gallatin,  and  the  Honorable  Judge  Betts. 

The  Secretary  read  the  minutes  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  previous  day. 

Col.  Knapp  read  an  interesting  and  eloquent 
address  on  the  establishment  of  a  University, — 
whereupon,  on  motion  made  and  seconded, 

Resolved,  that  the  thanks  of  this  Convention 
be  presented  to  Colonel  Knapp,  for  his  valuable 
communication  on  the  subject  of  a  National  Uni- 
versity. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Rice,  of  Virginia,  was  introduced 
and  took  his  seat. 


144 

The  Committee  of  arrangements  presented  the 
following  subject  for  discussion,  being  topic 
No.  3  "Police — with  the  best  system  of  disci- 
pline, the  distribution  of  rewards  or  honors,  and 
whether  the  exercise  of  such  discipline  should  be 
confined  to  a  faculty,  or  shared,  and  to  what  ex- 
tent, with  the  students." 

President  Marsh,  of  the  University  of  Vermont, 
addressed  the  meeting — advocating  the  parental 
system  of  government  and  objecting  to  discipline 
involving  public  disgrace  to  the  student. 

Dr.  Wainwright  expressed  his  entire  concur- 
rence with  the  sentiments  of  the  Rev.  President, 
who  had  just  spoken.  He  believed  it  to  be  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  the  interests  of  our  literary 
institutions,  that  the  parental  system  of  discipline 
should  be  recognized  and  established  within  their 
walls.  Both  the  comfort  of  the  officers  of  colleges 
and  the  progress  of  the  pupils,  in  their  respective 
studies,  would  be  thereby  materially  promoted. 
He  thought  that  these  views  had  been  rapidly 
gaining  ground.  Formerly,  in  the  intercourse 
between  the  teachers  and  taught,  a  great  and 
almost  impassable  distance  had  been  maintained, 


145 

and  the  consequence  was,  that  their  interests 
seemed  to  be  separate,  while  in  truth  they  were 
and  should  be  made  to  appear,  identified.  That 
punishments  were  sometimes  necessary,  no  one 
could  doubt,  and  that  in  colleges  these  punish- 
ments must  occasionally  tend  to  the  separating 
an  offending  pupil  from  the  institution  with  which 
he  was  connected.  But  it  was  an  important 
branch  of  enquiry,  how  far  this  kind  of  discipline 
was  to  operate.  There  was  a  general  understand- 
ing amongst  our  colleges,  that  no  student  having 
been  dismissed  from  one,  should  be  received  into 
another,  except  he  should  be  so  far  restored  to 
favor  as  to  receive  from  his  college,  what  was 
termed  a  regular  dismissal.  While  this  was  the 
understanding,  he  thought  that  the  comity  which 
should  always  be  maintained  between  sister  semi- 
naries, required  that  the  rule  should  be  strictly 
adhered  to.  It  was  a  serious  enquiry,  however, 
whether  or  not  it  should  be  abolished.  It  might 
be  argued  that  in  so  doing,  salutary  discipline 
would  be  essentially  weakened.  A  young  man 
knowing  that  without  any  impediment,  but  his 
own,  or  his  parents  or  guardians  will,  he  might 
transfer  his  connexion  from  one  college  to  another, 
would  be  perhaps,  rendered  more  careless  in  regard 

19 


146 

to  his  conduct,  than  he  would  be  under  the  opera- 
tion of  the  present  system.  But  on  the  other  hand, 
was  it  well  to  stamp  upon  a  young  man  of  six- 
teen, a  mark  of  disgrace,  which  should  be  almost  in- 
delible, for  some  single  act  of  indiscretion,  or  even, 
to  put  the  case  stronger,  for  some  months  of  negli- 
gence and  insubordination?  This  was  not  paren- 
tal. A  father  would  give  him  several  trials.  Why 
should  he  not  have  a  similar  advantage  in  our 
colleges?  If  he  had  not  succeeded  in  one,  why  not 
permit  him  freely  to  go  to  another,  where  under 
new  associations,  and  with  the  experience  he  has 
gained  from  the  consequences  of  his  former  mis- 
conduct, he  may  become  a  new  character.  For 
his  part,  he  would  give  a  young  man  as  many 
opportunities  to  recover  himself  as  possible,  and 
while  he  would  maintain  discipline,  he  would  not 
allow  punishment  to  be  inflicted  in  a  relentless 
spirit.  He  could  not  venture  to  decide  upon  such 
an  important  question;  he  would  merely  suggest 
those  views  which  had  been  impressed  on  his  own 
mind  when  he  was  connected  with  one  of  the  most 
prominent  literary  institutions  of  the  country,  and 
which  subsequent  observations  had  only  strength- 
ened. Still,  however,  those  whose  lives  were  en- 
gaged in  promoting  the  interests  of  good  morals 


147 

and  sound  learning  in  our  colleges,  and  who  were 
more  concerned  than  others  could  be  in  their  wel- 
fare, were  perhaps  the  best  judges  upon  such  a 
question.  For  himself  he  would  have  the  paren- 
tal discipline  carried  to  as  great  an  extent  as  pos- 
sible, and  have  the  intercourse  between  teachers 
and  taught,  approach  in  the  nearest  practicable 
degree  to  that  which  exists  between  a  wise  and 
affectionate  father  and  his  sons. 

Mr.  Hasler  was  adverse  to  all  punishments  in 
a  University. 

Dr.  Yates,  of  Chittiningo,  admitted  the  neces- 
sity of  some  change  in  the  present  system  of  dis- 
cipline, and  advocated  the  parental  system. 

Rev.  Mr.  Woodbridge,  of  Hartford,  was  also  in 
in  favor  of  the  parental  system. 

Mr.  Woodbridge  addressed  the  meeting  in  sub- 
stance as  follows: 

"I  was  struck  with  the  remark  of  an  eminent  professor  of 
law  in  the  University  of  Pisa,  who  was  deeply  interested  in 
the  subject  of  education;  that  it  was  the  business  of  the  legis- 
lator to  continue  and  complete  the  education,  which  the  pa- 


148 


rent  and  teacher  had  begun,  and  to  supply  what  they  had 
neglected.  Every  means  by  which  the  character  is  formed 
or  influenced,  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  makes  a  part  of 
education.  The  same  nature  is  to  be  operated  upon,  the 
same  results  are  aimed  at,  and  therefore  the  same  principles 
must  be  adopted  in  the  discipline  and  education  of  the  man, 
whether  it  be  in  the  school  or  the  state;  with  only  such  va- 
riation in  their  application  as  the  age  and  circumstances  of 
the  individual  require.  It  is  not  my  intention  to  refer  to 
existing  institutions  in  my  remarks;  I  would  merely  attempt 
to  state  those  general  principles,  which  it  seems  to  me  are  too 
much  kept  out  of  view  in  attending  to  particular  cases,  and 
I  would  leave  their  practical  application  to  those  whose  ex- 
perience qualifies  them  for  the  task. 

"In  the  earlier  periods  of  society,  the  only  object  of  disci- 
pline was  to  avenge  the  offence,  or  to  suppress  or  prevent  the 
exterior  act  of  evil.  The  idea  of  vindictive  punishment  is 
now  abandoned  in  every  enlightened  and  christian  country. 
It  is  not  deemed  sufficient  merely  to  prevent  the  repetition  of 
the  crime,  but  it  is  universally  admitted,  that  the  great  object 
of  discipline  should  be  to  promote  the  reformation  of  the 
offender,  and  exert  a  corresponding  influence  on  those  who 
may  be  inclined  to  imitate  his  example,  and  that  this  is  the 
most  effectual  mode  of  suppressing  crime. 

"To  attain  this  end,  I  know  of  only  two  means,  force  and 
influence.  Both  are  necessary  in  their  respective  places,  ac- 
cording to  the  age  and  character  of  those  who  are  the  subjects 


149 


of  discipline;  and  hence  arises  the  importance  of  that  separa- 
tion before  alluded  to  in  our  institutions,  between  those  whose 
age  and  character  require  different  methods  of  treatment. 

"  By  force,  I  mean  the  whole  apparatus  of  bolts,  and  fetters, 
and  sentinels,  and  laws,  enforced  by  the  exertion  of  physical 
power,  and  administered  by  absolute  authority,  which  dis- 
tinguishes the  military  and  naval  systems  of  government. 
These  means  must  be  applied  where  reason  is  immature  or 
enfeebled;  where  experience  cannot  guide;  where  the  feelings 
and  habits  of  the  individual  are  so  deeply  corrupted  that  rea- 
son and  conscience  have  ceased  to  operate;  or  where  the  exi- 
gency of  the  case  demands  a  sudden  and  violent  remedy. 
They  are  undoubtedly  the  most  summary  and  convenient  for 
suppressing  immediate  acts  of  evil  in  a  family  or  a  school,  so 
long  as  the  power  and  skill  of  the  teacher  can  overcome  that 
of  the  pupil;  and  on  these  accounts,  they  are  often  extended 
beyond  the  period  and  the  circumstances  which  demand  them . 
But  it  is  of  great  importance  to  resort  to  them  as  seldom  as 
possible,  and  to  relax  as  soon  as  reason  and  conscience  as- 
sume their  power.  They  are  but  partial  and  temporary  in 
their  effects.  They  extend  no  farther  than  the  hand  and 
eye  of  the  teacher,  and  their  influence  ceases  when  his  power 
is  destroyed.  They  give  rise  to  a  perpetual  contest  of  skill 
and  power,  between  the  teacher  and  the  pupil,  which  places 
the  teacher  in  the  light  of  an  enemy  to  be  overcome,  rather 
than  a  parental  friend  to  be  obeyed.  They  tend  to  debase 
the  character  of  the  pupil  by  showing  him  that  he  is  deem- 
ed unworthy  of  confidence,  and  lead  him  to  regulate  his 


150 


conduct  rather  by  calculations,  of  immediate  danger  of  de- 
tection, and  the  certainty  and  amount  of  punishment.,  compar- 
ed with  the  gratification  he  seeks,  than  by  regard  to  his 
teacher  or  his  duty.  The  only  mode  in  which  they  can 
subserve  the  great  end  of  discipline,  we  have  stated,  is  by 
interrupting  the  exercise  of  evil  disposition,  and  passions,  thus 
breaking  the  chain  of  habit,  and  allowing  reason  and  con- 
science time  to  exert  their  power.  If  they  are  not  accompa- 
nied by  means  adapted  to  improve  the  character,  they  often 
produce  an  accumulation  of  passion  and  appetite,  which  will 
be  followed  by  a  reaction,  like  the  explosion  of  an  overload- 
ed steam  engine.  The  voyage  may  have  been  rendered  more 
rapid  and  agreeable,  but  it  will  terminate  in  ruin. 

"I  will  not  attempt  to  decide  on  the  soundness  of  the  argu- 
ment, that  this  course  must  be  adopted  in  military  schools,  in 
order  to  prepare  thepupils  for  the  sphere  in  which  they  are 
to  act.  But  if  it  be  sound,  it  proves  as  decisively  that  it 
should  not  be  employed,  as  it  has  been  of  late  years,  in  the 
government  of  those  destined  to  civil  life.  The  habit  of 
obeying  blindly  and  governing  despotically,  which  is  the  basis 
of  this  system,  is  not  the  best  preparation  for  one  who  is  to 
act  as  the  citizen  of  a  republic. 

"I  have  seen  one  example  which  satisfied  me  that  it  is  not 
necessary  even  in  a  military  institution.  The  military  school 
of  the  kingdom  of  Wurtemberg  was  formerly  governed  on 
this  plan.  At  the  close  of  the  late  war  in  Europe,  it  was 
placed  under  the  direction  of  a  veteran  general,  who  changed 


151 


the  system  entirely.  The  students  were  required  to  observe 
regularity  in  hours,  and  order  in  every  habit;  and  there  was 
frequent  inspection  to  ascertain  whether  they  were  observed. 
But  I  found  no  gates,  or  sentinels,  or  military  restraints.  The 
early  part  of  a  student's  residence  is  a  period  of  probation, 
in  which  he  is  placed  under  the  immediate  and  constant 
inspection  and  authority  of  a  guardian.  When  his  charac- 
ter is  proved,  confidence  is  reposed  in  him;  he  is  left  to 
govern  himself.  He  is  allowed  to  spend  his  leisure  hours  as 
he  pleases,  only  giving  notice  of  his  places  of  resort.  These 
are  occasionally  visited  to  ascertain  his  conduct.  The  stu- 
dents dine  with  their  officers  at  a  public  table  in  their  neigh- 
borhood, and  are  placed,  while  there,  on  the  footing  of  gentle- 
men who  are  expected  to  govern  themselves.  Should  they 
prove  themselves  unworthy  of  this  confidence,  by  improper 
conduct,  they  are  separated  from  their  companions  and  again 
placed  under  the  system  of  rigid  restraint.  In  conversation 
with  the  commanding  general,  and  the  officers  who  had  been 
conversant  with  other  institutions  as  well  as  this,  I  was  assur- 
ed that  this  system  produced  far  better  results  than  that  usu- 
ally adopted. 

"The  remaining  means  of  government  is  influence.  It 
may  be  addressed  to  interest  and  passion,  to  affection,  or 
to  the  moral  sense.  The  appeals  to  interest  and  passion, 
to  hope  and  fear,  are  next  to  force,  as  convenient  and  sum- 
mary modes  of  discipline.  They  are  also  indispensable  in 
similar  circumstances  (for  God  himself  appeals  to  them),  and 
they  may  be  employed  as  a  substitute  for  force.     But  their  ef- 


152 


feet,  like  that  of  force,  is  to  a  great  extent  partial  and  tempo- 
rary. In  the  hands  of  men  they  are  liable  to  produce  great 
and  radical  evils.  They  lead  the  pupil  to  refer  to  the  fear  of 
man,  and  of  consequence  to  his  motive  of  action,  in  place  of 
the  will  of  God  and  a  sense  of  duty,  to  which  they  are  often 
in  direct  opposition.  If  not  used  with  great  caution  they  will 
render  it  more  difficult  to  act  with  the  independence  of  a  pa- 
triot and  a  christian;  or  they  may  lead  to  the  same  reaction 
as  force  itself.  Appeals  to  emulation,  as  a  means  of  disci- 
pline, are  even  more  dangerous.  They  often  kindle  this  pas- 
sion to  a  flame  which  is  never  suppressed.  We  have  heard 
of  a  "noble  emulation."  I  should  rejoice  to  hear  this  more 
fully  defined.  If  by  this  is  meant  merely  the  desire  to  at- 
tain a  given  standard  of  excellence,  nothing  can  be  more 
important.  We  are  commanded  "Be  ye  perfect  even  as 
your  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect."  But  if  it  is  employed,  as 
it  generally  is,  to  mean  the  desire  of  superiority  to  others  and 
of  the  honor  connected  with  it,  I  know  not  how  it  can  be 
robbed  of  its  poison.  What  more  noble  ambition  than  that 
desire  to  be  as  Gods,  which  drove  angels  from  heaven,  and 
brought  down  a  curse  upon  the  earth!  If  prizes  and  dis- 
tinctions were  given  to  all  who  attain  a  given  point  of  excel- 
lence, their  effects  would  be  less  unfavorable — but  let  those 
who  distribute  them  on  the  ground  of  personal  superiority, 
beware  lest  they  scatter  seed  as  dangerous  as  the  fabled 
teeth  of  the  dragon,  and  produce  a  host  of  armed  men,  en- 
grossed in  contending  with  each  other,  instead  of  striving  to 
promote  their  country's  good. 


153 


"The  influence  founded  on  affection  and  reverence,  is  ad- 
mirable in  its  effects,  and  should  be  one  of  the  main  springs 
of  discipline  in  the  family  or  the  small  circle.  But  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  act  the  parent  to  each  of  one  hundred  pupils. 

"It  is  almost  impossible  to  become  intimately  acquainted 
with  every  trait  of  character,  and  spring  of  action;  to  observe 
the  feelings  and  motives,  which  are  operating  upon  them,  and 
to  employ  that  appropriate  influence  and  that  familiar  inter- 
course, which  gives  to  parental  government  all  its  charm  and 
efficacy. 

"It  is  obviously  very  important  to  secure  the  assent  and 
co-operation  of  pupils  in  discipline,  and  the  question  has 
been  proposed,  how  far  their  being  directly  concerned  in  it 
would  be  useful .  I  have  seen  this  plan  adopted  in  two  foreign 
institutions  of  great  celebrity.  In  one,  its  effects  appeared  to 
me  at  least  doubtful.  In  the  other,  it  was  abandoned  on  ac- 
count of  the  consumption  of  time,  the  excitement  of  feeling, 
the  unfavorable  results  arising  from  the  application  of  one 
invariable  penalty  for  the  same  fault,  and  the  incapacity  of 
youth  to  act  with  reference  to  the  great  end  of  discipline. 
The  parent  must  often  treat  the  same  offence  very  differently, 
according  to  the  age,  the  motives,  and  the  disposition  or  ac- 
tual feeling  of  the  child,  if  he  wishes  to  promote  his  reforma- 
tion. But  in  a  public  trial,  under  an  invariable  law,  the 
benefit  of  private  influence,  and  of  the  experience  and  tact 
of  the  teacher,  is  lost. 

20 


154 


"But  all  these  means  of  discipline,  however  important  in 
their  place,  will  be  insufficient,  unless  the  appeal  be  made  to 
the  moral  sense.  There  is  but  one  governor  whose  sight 
we  cannot  escape,  whose  power  we  cannot  resist.  A  sense  of 
His  presence  and  of  duty  to  Him,  will  accomplish  more  than 
all  the  laws  and  penalties  which  can  be  devised,  without  it; 
and  this  should  form  the  basis  of  every  plan  of  government. 
A  humble  example  will  shew  its  efficacy.  A  deaf  and  dumb 
boy  was  charged  with  an  injury  committed  some  time  before 
on  an  article  of  furniture.  He  denied  it  in  opposition  to 
testimony.  One  of  his  companions,  who  stood  by,  put  his 
hand  upon  his  shoulder,  and  looking  earnestly  in  his  face, 
exclaimed  "God  sees  you,  tell  the  truth."  The  boy  fixed 
his  eyes  upon  the  ground,  reflected  a  few  minutes,  and  at 
length  replied  with  solemnity,  "It  may  be  that  I  did  it,  but 
if  I  did  I  have  forgotten  it,"  and  offered  no  farther  opposition 
to  the  charge,  lest  his  memory  should  deceive  him. 

"The  only  system  of  discipline  which  can  be  efficient  and 
permanent,  is  that  which  recognises  the  omnipresent  Deity  as 
its  Supreme  Head,  which  refers  to  his  word  as  its  standard, 
and  presents  the  love  of  God  and  man  as  its  motives  of 
action.  It  is  in  this  system  we  find  the  only  vital  principles 
of  action,  the  only  influence  which  is  all  pervading.  It 
involves  no  evils — it  creates  no  dangers.  Its  whole  tendency 
is  to  elevate  the  character,  to  suppress  every  wrong  motive, 
to  strengthen  every  good  principle,  and  to  prepare  the  subject 
of  it  for  every  sphere  of  action,  for  every  stage  of  his  exis- 


155 

tence.  The  institution  which  adopts  this  system  as  its  basis, 
will  best  provide  for  its  own  prosperity,  and  cannot  but  secure 
the  blessing  of  heaven." 

President  Bates,  of  Vermont,  maintained  the 
necessity  for  laws  and  regulations — few  and  sim- 
ple. He  advocated  the  parental  system,  whenever 
it  could  be  introduced,  but  did  not  believe  that 
system  sufficient  for  good  government.  President 
Bates  then  adverted  to  the  several  questions  pro- 
pounded by  the  committee  on  Professor  Ve- 
thake's  address,  and  gave  his  views  on  each. 

Professor  Adrain  of  Pennsylvania,  was  in  favor 
of  the  admission  of  a  student  into  a  college  where 
he  might  apply  for  admission,  though  he  might 
have  been  dismissed  from  some  other  college,  and 
without  reference  to  the  wishes  of  the  latter. 

Professor  Dewey,  of  Pittsfield,  addressed  the 
meeting  in  favor  of  the  parental  system  of  educa- 
tion. 

Professor  Silliman,  of  Yale  College,  agreed  with 
the  views  presented  by  President  Bates,  urging 
that  parents  did  not  often  enough  tread  on  college 
ground,  he  remarked  that, 


156 


"It  would  be  happy  if  parents  would  frequently  resort  to 
the  institutions  in  which  their  children  are  members,  and  as- 
certain in  person  their  condition;  that  they  should  go  into 
their  recitation  and  lecture  rooms,  andinto  their  chambers,  and 
thus  ascertain  their  habits,  opportunities  and  prospects;  that 
the  government  of  a  college  should  be  efficient,  and  should 
have  power  to  remove  any  injurious  member,  after  suitable 
efforts  to  produce  reformation;  that  the  government  is  crip- 
pled and  will  not  be  respected  by  the  students,  provided  it  is 
obliged  to  depend  upon  a  higher  board  to  confirm  its  decisions ; 
that  the  government  should,  however,  be  held  amenable  to  a 
higher  board  to  revise  its  decisions,  and  that  this  board  should 
have  power  to  revise  them  if  they  should  appear  erroneous, 
but  until  this  is  done,  their  decisions  should  be  final: — that 
the  government  should,  however,  itself,  be  governed  by  fixed 
laws,  which  should  of  course  be  made  public,  as  well  as  those 
that  govern  the  students;  that  all  may  know  their  duties; 
that  the  spirit  of  the  government  should  be  entirely  parental 
— the  intercourse  of  the  officers  with  their  pupils,  mild,  affec- 
tionate, and  winning,  like  that  of  parents  with  their  children; 
and  that  if  students  were  disobedient,  and  unworthy  in  their 
conduct,  the  tone  of  their  instructers  should  still  be  calm  al- 
though firm,  never  harsh  or  menacing. — It  was  observed  that, 
as  good  parents  are  familiar  with  their  children,  enter  into 
their  feelings,  and  even  mingle  occasionally  in  their  amuse- 
ments, so,  as  far  as  it  is  practicable,  the  college  government 
ought  to  imitate  the  parental,  but  that  in  both  cases  there 
must  be  obedience,  and  the  authority  of  the  parent  or  instruct- 
er  should  not  be  questioned  by  the  child  or  pupil,  although 


157 

both  are  held  amenable  to  moral  sanctions,  to  public  opinion, 
and  to  the  laws." 

Rev.  Dr.  Wainwright  stated  the  great  impor- 
tance of  the  subject  under  discussion,  and  feeling 
that  it  required  further  consideration,  he  begged 
leave  to  move,  "that  a  committee  be  appointed  to 
take  into  consideration  the  question  of  the  best 
system  of  discipline,  as  adapted  to  the  colleges  and 
Universities  of  our  country,  and  to  report. 

President  Marsh  rose  to  second  the  motion,  and 
expressed  an  opinion  that  dismissal  from  one  col- 
lege, ought  not  to  disqualify  or  exclude  an  appli- 
cant from  admission  to  some  other  college. 

Dr.  Emory  was  of  opinion  that  this  system  of 
excluding  students  dismissed  from  other  colleges, 
required  some  modification. 

Mr.  Sparks  offered  some  remarks  on  the  sense 
of  honor  entertained  by  students.  Believing  that 
it  might  be  advantageously  used  to  guide  and 
govern  them,  he  opposed  the  infliction  of  disgrace. 

Other  gentlemen  appearing  desirous  to  address 
the  meeting  on  the  subject  under  discussion,  by 
consent  the  motion  was  laid  on  the  table. 


158 

Lieut.  Mitchell,  from  West  Point,  addressed  the 
meeting,  setting  forth  the  views  of  the  "Associate 
Society  of  West  Point." — The  remarks  of  Lieut. 
Mitchell  were  to  the  following  effect. 

"I  feel  deeply  the  peculiarity  of  my  situation.  I  rise  for 
the  purpose  of  presenting  to  a  Convention  of  the  Literati  of 
my  country,  the  views  and  objects  of  an  association  which 
has  originated  among  a  number  of  young  men,  and  whose 
supporters  thus  far,  are  principally  among  the  youth  of  our 
country. 

"My  remarks  will  be  rather  in  reference  to  the  spirit  in 
which  the  "exposition"  is  presented  to  the  Convention,  than 
to  the  plans  and  objects  proposed,  since  these  will  be  dis- 
covered from  the  paper  itself. — Learning  that  a  large  number 
of  the  distinguished  literary  and  scientific  gentlemen,  of  our 
country,  were  already  convened,  for  the  purpose  of  consult- 
ing upon  the  best  means  for  promoting  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion; and  observing  that  one  of  the  subjects  brought  in  for 
consideration,  was  the  formation  of  a  national  association; 
we  hope  that  it  will  not  be  presuming  too  far  to  lay  before 
this  Convention  the  views  and  plans  of  an  association  which 
already  exists,  and  whose  objects  are  precisely  the  same  as 
those  which  now  claim  the  attention  of  the  Convention. 

"I  would  have  it  understood  that  our  "exposition"  is  not  pre- 
sented with  a  view  of  dictating  in  the  remotest  degree,  to  the 
Convention,  hardly  indeed  with  a  hope  that  we  would  attain 


159 


more,  than  barely  to  give  information  to  those  interested  in 
the  formation  of  a  national  association,  that  there  are  others, 
less  able  indeed,  but  quite  as  zealous  and  ready  to  co-operate 
in  any  proper  measures  which  might  be  adopted. 

"We  could  not  expect  or  ask,  that  the  Convention  as  a 
body  would  take  our  "exposition"  into  consideration.  It  will 
be  seen  from  the  "paper,"  that  our  plan  is  to  propagate  our 
views  from  individual  to  individual,  and  the  present  Conven- 
tion, which  unites  so  much  of  the  talent  and  wisdom  of  our 
country,  furnishes  us  an  opportunity  of  presenting  our  views, 
and  asking  their  advice  and  assistance,  individually,  if  not 
collectively. 

"The  object  to  be  effected  is  one  of  vast  importance,  and 
which  may  require  for  its  completion  a  number  of  years. 
It  will  be  necessary  to  unite  in  its  support  all  the  strength  that 
can  be  obtained,  and  we  hope  that  this  may  excuse  us  for 
proffering  our  feeble  assistance  in  so  great  and  good  a  cause. 

"Our  plans  and  objects  are  submitted  to  the  Convention. 
They  are  the  result  of  our  reflection  on  so  vast  a  subject;  we 
know  them  to  be  crude,  and  imperfect,  but  they  will  at  least 
show  that  we  are  interested,  and  that  deeply,  though  our 
projects  may  seem  entirely  beyond  our  grasp.  If  our  "ex- 
position" contains  one  idea  that  is  valuable,  it  will  be  discov- 
ered by  a  candid  perusal  which  will  doubtless  be  given.  We 
claim  nothing  for  our  "exposition,"  farther  than  the  true 
interests  of  the  common  cause  will  warrant.    We  are  ready 


160 


to  give  up  our  plan  and  adopt  those  which  may  spring  from 
the  united  wisdom  of  this  Convention.  We  ask  not  to 
lead;  so  far  from  it,  our  most  ardent  wish  is,  that  we  may  be 
permitted  to  follow  the  guidance  of  those  master  spirits,  by 
the  force  of  whose  industry  and  genius,  our  efforts  may  be 
so  directed  as  to  further  in  some  slight  degree  the  happiness 
of  our  common  country." 

Whereupon,  on  motion  made  and  seconded,  it  was 

Resolved,  that  the  thanks  of  this  Convention 
be  presented  to  Lieut.  Mitchell,  and  Lieut.  Drum, 
of  West  Point,  delegates  from  the  Associate  So- 
ciety, for  their  communication. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  to  meet  at  five 
o'clock,  in  the  afternoon. 


Afternoon  Session. 

President  Bates  having  taken  the  chair,  Rev. 
Dr.  Rice,  of  Virginia,  addressed  the  meeting.  He 
admitted  the  excellence  of  the  parental  system  of 
discipline,  but  doubted  its  sufficiency  for  students, 
living  in  masses  within  college  establishments,  nor 
did  he  believe  it  could  be  made  effectual  until  a 


161 

change  was  effected  in  public  opinion;  not  pre- 
pared to  give  an  opinion  in  relation  to  the  dis- 
missal of  students,  and  their  reception  into  other 
colleges,  he  was  in  favor  of  the  motion  for  com- 
mitting the  subject  as  had  been  proposed,  and 
concluded  by  declaring  his  firm  belief,  that  no 
discipline  could  be  perfect  without  religious  in- 
fluence. 

Professor  Patten,  from  Princeton,  expressed  his 
belief  that  an  internal  error  existed  in  all  our 
colleges,  in  relation  to  discipline;  that  the  system 
of  parental  government  was  much  needed.  He 
drew  a  distinction  between  the  government  of  a 
college,  and  of  a  University,  adverted  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Virginia,  and  recommended  a  modified 
course  of  college  government,  based  on  the  paren- 
tal system,  as  best  adapted  to  Universities. 

Rev.  Mr.  Woodbridge  rose  to  explain.  He  was 
in  favor  of  the  parental  system, — but  believed 
that  this,  and  all  other  means  of  government, 
would  be  inefficient  without  religious  influence. 
Mr.  Woodbridge  said, 

"So  far  was  I  from  desiring  to  abrogate  laws  or  abolish 

discipline,  it  was  my  whole  aim  to  state  those  principles  on 

21 


162 


which  it  seems  to  me  laws  and  discipline  ought  to  be  found- 
ed, and  leave  their  application  to  those  of  more  experience. 
I  maintained  that  to  resort  to  force  or  appeal  to  interest  or 
emulation,  was  but  an  imperfect  method,  attended  with  obvi- 
ous evils,  and  serious  dangers,  and  to  be  employed  as  seldom 
as  possible.  On  these  grounds  then,  I  would  urge  that  the 
laws  of  a  seminary  of  learning  should  be  as  few  and  simple 
as  possible,  that  they  should  be  such  as  are  obviously  neces- 
sary for  the  welfare  and  education  of  the  pupil,  and  not 
merely  for  the  interest  or  dignity  or  convenience  of  the  teach- 
er. That  the  penalties  should  not  be  the  arbitary  infliction 
of  pain,  or  fines,  or  disgrace,  but  those  which  are  the  natural 
consequence  of  the  fault;  such  as  exclusion  from  a  class,  in 
which  he  is  too  idle  to  keep  his  standing — or  from  a  society 
which  is  corrupted  by  his  example,  or  disturbed  by  his  disor- 
der— or  from  privileges  or  liberties,  if  he  abuse  them.  That 
they  should  be  calculated  to  soften  and  improve  his  feelings, 
and  not  merely  to  vindicate  the  honor  of  the  governor,  or  the 
claims  of  vindictive  justice — to  reform  the  offender  instead  of 
fixing  an  indelible  stain  upon  his  character,  or  making  him 
an  outlaw  of  the  collegiate  republic,  and  thus  leaving  him 
no  hope  from  reformation. 

"I  venerate  many  of  our  institutions — but  after  all  is 
done  that  the  wisdom  of  their  guardians  can  accomplish, 
in  these  methods,  we  are  still  told,  that  our  colleges  are  fre- 
quently scenes  of  rebellion ;  that  all  our  literary  institutions  are 
infested  with  a  spirit  of  insubordination,  which  perplexes  their 


163 

governors,  alarms  their  friends,  distresses  parents,  and  leads 
to  the  destruction  of  many  a  promising  youth. 

"Something  more  must  be  done,  then.  As  one  important 
step,  provision  must  be  made,  and  inducement  offered,  for  the 
occupation  of  every  moment.  No  room  must  be  left  for  evil  to 
take  root.  Each  pupil  must  have  such  a  task  assigned  him 
as  shall  demand  all  his  strength,  but  not  discourage  its  exer- 
tion— as  shall  be  adapted  to  his  capacity  and  age,  and  thus 
allure  and  gratify. 

"  But  my  great  object  was  to  maintain  that  some  additional 
motives  must  be  brought  into  action ;  some  higher,  nobler  prin- 
ciple than  the  fear  of  man,  or  the  love  of  distinction,  and  I  am 
persuaded  that  no  other  will  be  found  effectual  but  a  sense  of 
duty — a  conviction  of  the  presence  of  God,  and  our  immedi- 
ate responsibility  to  him — without  these  means  of  influence, 
the  use  of  force,  and  appeals  to  interest  must  be  inefficient. 
Allow  me  to  mention  a  few  examples,  to  show  the  practical 
efficacy  of  moral  influence. 

"In  the  celebrated  missionary  seminary  at  Basle,  in  Swit- 
zerland, the  only  rules  are  a  few  texts  of  Scripture,  copied 
and  hung  up  in  the  study.  The  Principal  and  Professors 
are  the  friends  and  mentors  of  their  pupils.  They  believe 
that  no  young  man  should  come  to  prepare  for  a  responsible 
station  in  life,  who  is  not  able  to  govern  himself;  and  if  he 
is  not  prepared  to  do  this,  he  is  unfit  for  such  a  course  and 
such  a  place;  he  should  again  be  committed  to  the  care  of 


164 


guardians.  It  may  be  said,  there  are  persons  who  have  a  high 
and  important  object  before  them,  and  are  from  their  circum- 
stances peculiarly  devoted;  every  man  who  is  just  prepar- 
ing to  enter  life,  should  be  so.  But  let  us  go  to  the  military 
school  of  Wurtemburg,  already  mentioned,  and  we  find  that  a 
mild  government  has  proved  more  efficacious  there,  also,  with 
a  class  of  young  men  widely  different  in  their  destination, 
and  often  in  their  spirit.  Still  if  these  also  are  young  men 
of  mature  minds;*  then  let  me  point  you  to  the  school  of 


We  have  obtained  from  Mr.  Woodbridge  the  following  extract 
from  the  "  General  regulations  for  schools,"  published  by  the  govern- 
ment of  Wurtemburg,  in  illustration  of  the  subject. 

"We  expect  that  teachers  will  pay  the  most  earnest  attention, 
not  merely  to  compel  industry  and  morality,  by  threats  and  punish- 
ments, but  to  awaken  the  love  and  disposition  to  them.  Severe  pu- 
nishments should  be  used  with  great  care,  and  with  reference  to  the 
peculiar  character  of  the  pupil,  in  order  not  to  awaken  a  spirit  of  bit- 
terness or  defiance  or  dislike  to  school.  Equal  care  should  be  taken 
in  the  use  of  rewards,  to  avoid  awakening  ambition  and  the  love 
of  rewards,  and  cherishing  selfish  feelings.  Their  effort  should 
be  especially  directed  to  promote  the  love  of  order,  diligence 
and  morality,  by  appropriate,  kind,  and  at  the  same  time  earnest  and 
energetic  representations  and  instruction,  by  a  good  example,  by 
firm  consistent  and  impartial  treatment,  with  a  proper  application  of 
external  motives,  and  encouragements.  They  should  endeavor  par- 
ticularly, to  make  such  arrangements  in  the  interior  of  the  schools, 
as  will  tend  to  make  going  to  school,  pleasant  to  the  pupil;  to  pro- 
mote the  love  of  learning,  quiet,  and  the  disposition  to  self  employ- 
ment of  the  pupil." 


165 


Fellenberg,  composed  of  boys,  where  I  have  seen  the  obstinate 
subdued,  the  vicious  reformed,  and  the  indolent  rendered 
diligent,  without  any  appeal  to  force  or  fear,  or  to  selfishness. 
Let  me  lead  you  to  the  infant  school  of  Geneva,  where  I 
have  seen  one  hundred  and  fifty  children  playing  daily  in  a 
garden,  whose  walls  hung  thick  with  clusters  of  ripe  grapes, 
and  yet  not  a  grape  was  missing,  or  had  ever  been  taken. 
They  are  taught  that  God  sees  them. — But  these  are  gene- 
rally well  educated  and  well  disposed  children. 

"As  a  last  example,  then,  let  me  carry  you  to  the  asylum 
for  juvenile  delinquents  at  Edinburgh.  It  is  inhabited  by 
boys  educated  in  the  streets,  and  taught  to  gain  their  sub- 
sistence by  theft,  who  were  collected  from  the  criminal 
courts,  and  the  prisons,  yet  it  has  neither  bars,  nor  bolts, 
nor  sentinels.  It  is  the  house  of  a  poor,  but  pious  shoemaker, 
where  all  are  at  liberty  to  go  and  come  at  pleasure,  and  have 
no  other  restraint  than  conscience  and  religious  influence. 
Yet  it  is  a  house  of  morality,  of  kindness,  of  religious  order. 
Only  one  pupil  had  ever  refused  to  stay,  and  many  had  been 
reformed.  They  were  kept  diligently  at  work,  and  tools  and 
materials  were  placed  in  their  hands.  They  were  employ- 
ed as  messengers  to  procure  and  carry  articles  for  the  house; 
they  were  entrusted  with  money  and  accounts,  and  have 
never  abused  their  confidence.  Some  have  been  finally 
placed  in  good  situations,  and  sustained  irreproachable  cha- 
racters. Let  us  not  be  told,  then,  that  similar  principles  can- 
not be  applied  in  our  enlightened  country.  I  am  persuaded 
that  at  this  day,  no  other  can  be  with  success.   The  spirit  of 


166 


liberty  pervades  every  age,  and  every  class  of  society: — in  it- 
self, it  is  pure  and  peaceful  as  the  waters  of  the  mountain  lake. 
But  like  that,  it  may  be  converted  into  a  turbid  torrent  by 
the  channel  through  which  it  passes,  and  the  streams  which 
pour  into  it, — mingled  as  it  is,  with  the  imperfect  views  and 
strong  passions  of  youth,  it  often  degenerates  into  a  mere 
spirit  of  resistance  to  all  external  influence.  It  will  discover 
only  by  degress,  that  order  is  indispensable  to  the  enjoyment 
of  liberty.  Violence  will  but  augment  the  force,  and  confirm 
the  illusions  of  passion.  They  must  be  corrected  by  the  pa- 
tient lessons  of  wisdom  and  kindness,  and  the  progress  of 
reason  and  experience.  In  the  mean  time,  I  know  of  no 
method  which  is  so  likely  to  be  effectual,  as  to  bring 
the  pupil  into  the  presence  of  that  Governor  before  whom 
the  proudest  spirit  bows  with  reverence,  and  call  on  him 
to  obey  that  law  to  which  the  rulers  of  the  earth  may  submit 
without  humiliation." 

The  question  was  then  taken  on  Dr.  Wain- 
wright's  motion,  and  carried  in  the  affirmative. 

General  Tallmadge  moved,  that  the  commit- 
tee be  instructed  to  report  with  all  convenient 
speed,  the  result  of  their  deliberations,  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  this  meeting,  and  that  the  Secretary  be 
instructed  to  cause  the  same  to  be  published  for 
the  information  of  the  members  of  this  Conven- 
tion. The  motion  having  been  seconded,  and  the 
question  taken,  it  was  carried  in  the  affirmative. 


167 

The  committee  on  a  National  Literary  and 
Scientific  Society  presented  their  report,  as  follows: 

"The  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  sub- 
ject of  a  'National  Literary  and  Scientific  Society,* 
report, — that  in  their  opinion,  it  is  expedient  and 
would  prove  highly  useful  to  the  cause  of  know- 
ledge and  education,  that  a  society,  as  contempla- 
ted by  the  proposition  referred  to  them,  should  be 
formed  and  they  accordingly  submit  the  follow- 
ing resolution. 

"Resolved,  that  a  committee,  to  consist  of  seven 
members  be  appointed,  to  prepare  and  report  a 
plan  of  '  a  National  Literary  and  Scientific  Socie- 

ty.' 

"The  committee  also  propose  that  the  communi- 
cation made  to  this  Convention,  by  the  Associate 
Society  of  West  Point,  be  referred  to  the  com- 
mittee appointed  by  virtue  of  the  preceding  reso- 
lution." 

The  Hon.  Edward  Livingston,  chairman  of  the 
committee,  on  presenting  the  report,  remarked,  that 
next  to  our  political  institutions,  none  could  take 


168 

precedence  in  value  to  the  society  now  proposed. 
He  suggested  the  idea  of  calling  a  Convention  on 
the  subject,  each  State  in  the  Union  to  send  dele- 
gates in  proportion  to  its  inhabitants,  with  a  view 
to  organize  the  society,  and  to  provide  funds  for 
its  support,  urging  the  object  upon  the  attention 
of  all,  he  presented  the  report. 

Mr.  Sparks  offered  a  few  remarks  in  relation  to 
connecting  education,  by  some  system,  with  this 
society,  and  suggested  the  idea  of  associate  socie- 
ties, subordinate  to  a  central  or  mother  institution. 

On  motion  made  and  seconded,  the  report  was 
accepted. 

The  following  topics  were  then  handed  in  for 
discussion  or  inquiry. 

No.  16. — "Would  it  be  expedient  to  connect 
with  a  University,  established  in  a  large  city,  and 
intended  to  raise  the  standard  of  learning,  and  to 
embrace,  as  far  as  its  means  would  permit,  every 
department  of  science  and  literature, — a  prepara- 
tory college,  in  which  should  be  taught  mathe- 
matics, physical  and  moral  science,  and  English 


169 

literature,  and  belles  letters,  not  to  the  exclusion 
of  classical  learning,  but  making  this  a  voluntary, 
instead  of  an  indispensable  branch  of  study?" 

No.  17. — "It  is  proposed  that  a  committee  be 
now  appointed,  whose  duty  it  shall  be,  after  due 
research  and  deliberation,  to  fix  upon  one  uniform 
mode  of  naming  and  pronouncing  the  Greek  and 
Roman  letters,  and  of  reading  these  two  langua- 
ges; and  that  this  committee  present  their  report 
to  this  Convention  at  the  next  annual  meeting." 

The  committee  of  arrangements  produced  the 
first  of  the  preceding  topics  for  discussion. 

The  Hon.  Albert  Gallatin  addressed  the  meet- 
ing in  substance  as  follows: 

"I  had  not  intended  to  address  this  meeting,  composed  of 
men  superior  to  me  in  knowledge,  and  from  experience  prac- 
tically acquainted  with  the  subject  of  education.  I  have  been 
much  gratified  and  enlightened  by  the  discussions  which  have 
taken  place.  But  I  was  desirous  to  call  the  attention  of  this 
Convention  to  some  definite  proposition  on  the  subject  of  the 
intended  University.  The  proposition,  and  the  observations 
I  wish  to  make,  are  my  own.  Lately  honored  with  a  seat  in 
the  Council  of  the  University,  I  have  not  yet  had  an  opportu- 
nity of  ascertaining  the  particular  opinions  and  views  of  the 

friends  of  the  Institution. 

22 


170 


"But  it  is  well  known,  that  two  objects  are  in  contempla- 
tion. One  is,  to  elevate  the  standard  of  learning,  to  com- 
plete the  studies  commenced  in  the  colleges,  to  embrace  in 
the  plan  of  education  those  branches  which  may  not  be  in- 
cluded in  that  of  the  existing  seminaries  of  learning;  in  a 
word,  to  assimilate  the  University  to  the  most  celebrated  es- 
tablishments abroad,  which  are  designated  by  that  name. 
The  other  is,  to  diffuse  knowledge,  and  to  render  it  more 
accessible  to  the  community  at  large. 

"I  do  not  apprehend  any  insurmountable  difficulties  in 
attaining,  in  due  time,  the  first  object.  Our  means  are  as  yet 
limited;  but  there  are  studies  which  do  not  come  within  our 
plan,  and  others  which  may  be  postponed.  Our  first  object 
must  be  to  supply  the  wants  which  are  not  satisfied,  and  to 
take  possession  of  the  ground  which  is  as  yet  unoccupied. 
In  a  country  blessed  with  perfect  liberty  of  conscience,  it  is 
the  right  of  every  religious  denomination  to  have  its  own 
schools  of  divinity.  They  have  accordingly  established  dis- 
tinct seminaries  of  theology,  and  this  study  does  not  enter  in- 
to the  plan  of  the  University.  There  are  in  this  city,  and 
elsewhere,  excellent  schools  of  medicine,  and  this  branch  does 
not  require  immediate  attention.  Although  various  branches 
of  knowledge,  connected  with  the  study  of  the  law,  are  not 
generally  publicly  taught,  yet  the  distinguished  men  who 
adorn  the  bar  of  this,  and  the  other  States,  afford  a  satisfac- 
tory proof  that  the  present  mode  of  instruction  supplies  sound 
and  profound  lawyers.  Dr.  Lieber's  observation,  that  the 
study  of  lucrative  professions  may  be  supported  by  the  stu- 


171 


dents,  and  that  those  branches  of  general  knowledge,  the 
application  of  which  to  profitable  objects  is  not  so  immediate, 
require  public  support,  appears  to  me  perfectly  correct.  Our 
attention  in  this  upper  department,  may  at  first  be  confined 
to  general  science  and  literature,  to  what  are  called  abroad 
the  philosophical  faculty,  or  the  faculties  of  science  and 
letters. 

"The  difficulties  attending  the  establishment  of  a  proper 
discipline,  in  colleges  of  which  the  students  are  inmates,  are 
truly  great,  and  have  been  ably  discussed.  But  it  does  not 
seem,  that  they  are  much  to  be  apprehended  in  a  Universi- 
ty where  that  discipline  applies  only  to  the  lecture  room,  and 
which,  in  that  department  will  admit  principally  graduates  of 
colleges,  or  young  men  of  the  same  age. 

"  But  the  other  object  contemplated  by  the  establishment  of 
this  University,  that  of  diffusing  knowledge  more  generally, 
and  of  extending  the  blessings  of  education  to  that  numerous 
class  which  as  yet  has  not  had  the  opportunity  of  enjoying 
them,  is  still  more  important,  and  is  attended  with  considera- 
ble difficulty.  The  necessity  of  assimilating  the  system  of 
education  to  the  present  state  of  society,  is  felt  every  where; 
and  the  governments  of  Europe,  where  the  necessity  is  far  less 
urgent,  are  daily  adopting  measures  to  that  effect.  But  that 
which  with  them  is  only  an  anticipation,  is  already  with  us  an 
imperious  necessity.  Even  the  most  liberal  of  those  govern- 
ments have  left  subsisting,  or  erected  barriers  between  the 
people  and  the  most  wealthy  and  best  educated  class,  which 


172 


place,  in  fact,  the  substantial  power  in  the  hands  of  the  few. 
But  with  us,  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  has  not  been  a 
nominal  declaration.  It  has  been  heretofore  attended  with 
a  success  exceeding  the  most  sanguine  expectations.  But 
that  which,  fifty  years  ago,  was  yet  a  theory,  has  become  a 
fact.  As  power  is  enjoyed  it  is  better  understood;  the  people 
understand  and  feel  more  and  more,  that  the  power  is  exclu- 
sively in  their  hands;  and  they  exercise  it  accordingly. 
They  are  in  fact,  as  of  right,  the  sovereigns  of  the  country. 
We  all  know  it,  we  all  feel  it;  and  there  is  but  one  question 
left;  Shall  we  be  governed  by  ignorance,  or  by  knowledge? 
On  that  single  question,  whether  we  shall  afford  to  the  people, 
the  opportunity  of  adding  knowledge  to  intelligence,  depends 
the  solution  of  the  all  important  problem,  whether  our  insti- 
tutions shall  be  so  administered,  as  to  become  a  model  for 
imitation  or  a  shoal  to  be  avoided. 

"Great  advances  have  been  recently  made,  in  those 
schools  where  the  first  elements  are  taught,  by  the  impulse 
given  to  infant,  Sunday,  and  other  primary  schools.  The 
impediments  to  a  general  acquisition  of  knowledge,  begin 
with  the  high,  or  preparatory  schools,  and  extend  to  the  col- 
leges. Our  seminaries  of  learning  have  been  modelled  on 
the  plan  of  those  of  Europe.  These  were  established  prior 
to  the  reformation,  or  new  modelled  at  that  epoch;  and  they 
were  well  adapted  to  the  existing  state  of  society,  and  of  learn- 
ing. No  European  nation,  with  perhaps  a  single  exception, 
had  at  that  time  a  fixed  and  polished  language,  or  any  do- 
mestic literature.    Latin  and  Greek  authors  were  the  only 


173 


models  of  style,  taste,  and  eloquence.  Hardly  any  progress 
had  been  made  in  science,  since  the  time  of  the  Greeks. 
The  accumulated  stock  of  the  knowledge  of  mankind  was 
to  be  found  exclusively  in  the  works  of  those  authors.  The 
people  were  oppressed,  and  all  but  a  few,  grossly  ignorant. 
There  were  in  every  country,  but  few  readers;  and  the  few 
men  of  learning,  scattered  throughout  Europe,  corresponded 
in  Latin,  and  published  their  works  in  that  language,  which 
was  common  to  them.  The  discovery  of  printing  was  re- 
cent, and  its  prodigious  effects  could  not  have  been  anticipat- 
ed. It  was  therefore  not  only  proper,  but  absolutely  neces- 
sary, that  the  study  of  the  dead  languages  should  be  made 
the  primary,  fundamental,  and  absolute  requisite  of  a  learned 
education.  This  state  of  things  has  altogether  changed. 
Whatever  valuable  knowledge  was  contained  in  the  writings 
of  the  ancients,  has  long  since  been  translated.  As  models 
of  style,  they  remain;  but  every  nation  now  has,  in  every 
department,  a  rich  fund  of  literature  of  its  own,  and  better 
adapted  to  the  present  feelings,  habits,  and  modes  of  thinking 
of  mankind.  In  the  mean  while,  every  science,  natural, 
moral,  or  mathematical,  has  made  immense  progress,  and 
reached  a  height,  and  a  degree  of  perfection  far  beyond  what 
the  ancients  had  attained :  and  every  man,  of  science  or  let- 
ters, writes  in  his  vernacular  tongue. 

"It  is  said,  indeed,  that  the  study  of  the  dead  languages 
is  still  the  best  foundation  of  solid  learning,  and  better  calcu- 
lated than  any  other  to  exercise  the  faculties,  and  train  the 
mind  of  youth.    In  stating  the  creation  of  modern  literature, 


174 


and  the  prodigious  progress  of  science,  during  the  three  last 
centuries,  the  fact  has  substantially  been  admitted,  that  those 
to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  those  blessings,  were  almost  all 
educated  in  those  ancient  seminaries  of  learning,  and  that 
their  minds  had  been  disciplined  at  that  school.  It  is  there- 
fore with  diffidence,  that  this  subject  must  be  approached. 
No  friend  of  learning  can  wish  to  run  the  risk  of  destroying 
a  system  which  has  borne  such  fruits.  Such,  however,  is  not 
the  object  of  the  proposition  submitted  to  you. 

"Yet,  the  assertion,  that  the  study  of  the  dead  languages 
is  particularly  appropriate,  either  to  the  formation  of  style  in 
the  vernacular  language  of  the  student,  or  to  exercise  the 
faculties,  and  form  the  mind,  appears  erroneous.  More  may 
be  due,  in  this  respect,  to  the  manner  of  teaching,  than  to 
what  is  taught .  Every  branch  of  knowledge,  properly  taught , 
will  unfold  and  exercise  the  faculties.  Memory  is  almost  the 
only  one  called  into  action,  by  the  study  of  the  elements  of 
languages.  If  the  knowledge  of  a  foreign  language  is  ne- 
cessary to  improve  that  of  your  own,  it  is  not  perceived  that 
one  of  the  modern  is,  for  that  purpose,  much  inferior  to  the 
ancient  languages.  But  a  notorious  fact  may  be  more 
striking  than  argument. 

"  It  is  admitted  by  all,  that  the  Greek  is  one  of  the  most,  if 
not  the  most  perfect  of  languages.  It  is  equally  well  known 
that  the  Greeks  who  carried  that  instrument  to  such  a  degree 
of  perfection,  did  not  learn,  and  were  not  assisted,  by  any 
other  language  than  their  own.    And  it  will  not  be  denied 


175 


that, — trained  by  an  education  carried  on  in  their  own  lan- 
guage exclusively,  the  faculties  of  those  fathers  of  modern 
civilization  were  unfolded  and  exercised  in  a  most  wonderful 
degree.  The  highest  and  most  acute  powers  of  the  mind 
are  displayed  in  their  splendid,  though  often  erroneous  specu- 
lations.— And  the  whole  stock  of  knowledge  in  every  science, 
with  which  we  took  our  departure  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
was  almost  exclusively  due  to  the  discoveries  made  by  that 
small  nation  within  the  short  space  of  its  national  existence. 

"But,  admitting  the  utility  of  the  learned  languages,  for 
those  who  are  designed  for  one  of  the  learned  professions,  it 
is  the  perseverance,  in  continuing  to  make  them  an  absolute 
requisite  in  all  our  seminaries  of  learning,  which  must  be 
considered  as  the  greatest  impediment  to  the  general  diffusion 
of  knowledge.  No  boy,  who  has  not  previously  devoted  a 
number  of  years  to  the  study  of  the  dead  languages;  no  boy 
who  from  defective  memory,  or  want  of  aptitude  for  that  par- 
ticular branch,  may  be  deficient  in  that  respect,  can  be  admit- 
ted into  any  of  our  colleges.  And  those  seminaries  do  alone 
afford  the  means  of  acquiring  any  other  branch  of  know- 
ledge. Whatever  may  be  his  inclination,  or  destination,  he 
must,  if  admitted,  apply  one  half  of  his  time  to  the  further 
study  of  those  languages.  It  is  self  evident  that  the  avenue 
to  every  branch  of  knowledge,  is  actually  foreclosed  by  the 
present  system  against  the  greater  part  of  mankind.  But 
the  evil  does  not  stop  here. 

'  The  proposition  submitted  is  intended  to  open  that  avenue, 


176 


and  to  form  a  connecting  link  between  the  upper  department 
of  the  University,  and  the  high,  or  preparatory,  which  succeed 
the  elementary  schools.  It  is  not  intended  with  a  view  to 
exclude  classical  learning,  but  simply  in  order  that  this  may 
no  longer  be  an  absolute  requisite.  The  proposition, 
though,  for  the  sake  of  simplicity  confined,  now,  only  to  a 
college,  would,  if  adopted,  spread  its  beneficial  influence 
much  beyond  the  sphere  of  the  college  itself. 

"The  learned  languages  being  the  essential  and  funda- 
mental part  of  a  collegiate  education,  the  academies,  and 
high,  or  preparatory  schools  in  repute,  have,  almost  without 
exception,  been  necessarily  adapted  to  the  colleges  for  which 
they  were  to  prepare  students.  The  study  of  Latin  and 
Greek  is  also  made  there  the  principal,  almost  the  sole  object 
of  education.  It  is  notorious  that  those  who,  leaving  those 
schools,  enter  college,  are  in  every  other  respect  extremely 
deficient;  that  every  thing  else  has  been  sacrificed  to  the 
dead  languages;  and  that  in  several  branches,  they  are 
destitute  of  the  elementary  knowledge  which  they  ought  to 
have  acquired  at  that  age.  But  it  is  on  those  who  are  not 
destined  to  enter  college,  that  the  effect  is  most  baneful. 

"A  few  only  are  destined  for  the  learned  professions,  or 
calculated  to  follow  the  pursuits  of  science  and  literature. 
But  all  want  such  degree  of  practical  and  useful  knowledge, 
which  can  be  acquired  during  the  earliest  years  of  life.  It 
is  that  want  which  is  generally  felt;  for  which  there  is  a  loud 
and  well  founded  clamor,  and  which  ought  to  be  satisfied. 


177 


The  greater  part  of  mankind  must  necessarily  recur  to  ma- 
nual labor,  or  to  active  pursuits,  for  means  of  subsistence. 
They  must  at  an  early  age  be  inured  to  those  habits,  which 
will  fit  them  for  those  professions.  The  mechanic  always, 
the  merchant  often,  wants  the  labour  of  his  children,  and 
must  withdraw  them  from  their  studies,  at  farthest  at  the  age 
of  fourteen.  The  years  which  elapse  from  the  time  when 
they  leave  the  most  elementary  schools  to  that  age,  those 
irrecoverable  years  are  now  almost  irretrievably  lost.  The  pa- 
rents have  no  choice;  they  wish  their  children  to  receive  the 
best  attainable  education:  they  place  them  in  the  best 
academies  which  the  country  affords.  Instead  of  having 
acquired  a  considerable  mass  of  useful  and  practical  know- 
ledge, in  the  study  of  which,  the  faculties  of  the  mind,  would 
have  been  equally  unfolded,  and  exercised,  the  boys  leave 
school,  with  no  other  acquirement,  but  a  smattering  of  Latin 
and  Greek,  which  they  forget  in  a  few  years,  and  which,  if 
remembered,  would  not  be  of  the  slightest  utility  to  them  in 
their  further  pursuits.  It  is  that  tremendous  loss  of  time 
which  constitutes  the  great  evil,  that  cannot  be  removed  oth- 
erwise than  by  substituting  a  more  rational  system  of  educa- 
tion, and  better  fitted  to  the  situation,  pursuits,  and  wants  of 
the  community. 

"  We  were  all  yesterday  forcibly  struck  by  the  statement  of 

the  President  of  this  Convention,  in  reference  to  an  attempt 

made,  at  one  of  our  most  respectable  seminaries  of  learning, 

to  subdivide  the  Freshman  class  into  four  sections,  according 

to  their  acquirements  (in  the  learned  languages)  at  the  time 

23 


178 

of  their  admission.  Those  who  were  thrown  in  the  lowest 
division,  asked  for  their  dismission,  adding  with  tears  in  their 
eyes,  that  a  further  prosecution  of  their  studies  was  hopeless, 
and  that  the  time  already  spent  on  that  purpose  was  to  them 
utterly  lost. 

"Let  it  not  be  said  that  other  schools  may  be  established, 
for  the  exclusive  use  of  those  who  are  not  intended  to  learn 
the  dead  languages.  That  this  is  in  part  true,  and  has  been 
attempted  to  some  extent ,  is  admitted .  But  those  schools  will 
continue  to  be  considered  as  inferior,  and  be  attended,  but 
with  reluctance,  so  long  as  they  are  not  connected  with  "a 
college"  in  which  that  study  is  not  made  on  essential  requisite. 
In  order  that  they  may  be  properly  improved  and  attractable 
teachers,  they  must  be  placed  on  an  equal  footing  with  others. 
They  must,  as  the  classical  academies,  open  the  road  to  a 
college,  to  the  upper  department  of  the  University,  to  the 
highest  branches  of  those  sciences  and  letters,  which  do  not 
require  a  previous  knowledge  of  the  dead  languages. 

"It  is  not  the  object  of  this  proposition  either  to  exclude 
classical  learning,  to  deny  its  utility  in  many  respects,  or  to 
assign  to  it  a  rank  below  that  of  other  branches  of  knowledge. 
But  whilst  all  the  existing  seminaries  of  learning  afford  am- 
ple means  for  that  special  pursuit,  no  possible  injury  can  arise 
from  embracing  the  opportunity,  offered  by  the  new  Univer- 
sity, to  make  the  fair  experiment  of  what  may  properly  be 
called  an  English  college.  It  must  be  acknowledged  that 
there  is  at  present  an  invidious  distinction  between  classical 


179 

and  other  learning.  The  study  of  Latin  and  Greek  con- 
tinues, after  the  causes  for  it  have  ceased  to  exist,  to  occupy  a 
larger  place  in  education,  and  a  higher  rank  in  opinion,  than 
it  is  now  entitled  to,  as  compared  with  other  sciences  and 
branches  of  knowledge.  No  superiority  is  claimed  for  any; 
but,  in  the  republic  of  letters,  every  science  has  a  right  to 
claim  equality.  At  present  to  be  a  scholar,  exclusively  means, 
to  be  well  versed  in  ancient  languages;  without  this,  the  man, 
who  has  reached  the  highest  elevation  in  any  other  science, 
is  not  deemed  worthy  of  the  appellation.  It  is  the  test  by 
which  the  well  educated  man,  as  he  is  called,  is  distinguished 
from  the  man  without  education.  Whilst  that  prejudice 
remains,  there  is  but  little  hope  of  any  essential  improvement 
in  our  system  of  education,  and  none  whatever  to  make  this 
generally  popular. 

"I  have  had  some  knowledge  of  what  popular  feeling  is 
in  that  respect,  and  of  the  difficulties  which  the  advancement 
of  learning  has  here  to  encounter.  Near  thirty -six  years 
ago,  an  attempt  was  made,  in  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, to  establish  an  academy  in  every  county.  Many  obsta- 
cles were  to  be  encountered,  and  objections  to  be  removed; 
but  I  may  aver,  that  the  reluctance  to  sustain,  at  public  ex- 
pense, the  study  of  Latin  and  Greek,  was  the  true  cause  of 
its  failure.  Unless  supported  by  public  opinion,  the  intended 
University  will  fail.  We  wish  to  raise  learning  to  its  highest 
standard :  in  order  to  succeed  we  must  make  the  community 
at  large  participate  in  the  benefits  of  the  institution.  Permit 
me  to  repeat,  that  nothing  is  farther  from  my  object  than  to 


180 


depreciate  the  study  of  languages.  Their  varied  structure 
and  the  investigation  of  the  means  by  which,  through  that 
inestimable  gift  of  Providence,  ideas  are  communicated  from 
man  to  man,  and  the  stock  of  knowledge  is  gradually  accu- 
mulated and  transmitted  to  succeeding  generations,  is  one  of 
the  most  interesting  and  important  pursuits.  It  is  one  most 
congenial  to  my  own  taste.  As  one  of  the  essential  branches 
of  the  science  of  mind,  I  might  even  be  inclined  to  prefer  it  to 
those  branches  of  knowledge  which  have  matter  for  object. 
It  is  the  abuse,  and  not  the  use,  to  which  I  object.  Without 
intending  to  compare  together  subjects  which  admit  of  no 
comparison,  may  I  be  allowed  to  say  that,  if  before  the  refor- 
mation, the  way  to  the  word  of  God  and  to  his  worship  was 
obstructed  by  the  improper  use  of  the  Latin  language,  we 
now  find  the  same  impediment  arresting  a  more  general 
diffusion  of  human  knowledge." 

Mr.  Gallatin  then  gave,  as  he  had  been  desired, 
some  account  of  the  college  of  Geneva. 

"That  institution,  which  existed  before  the  reformation, 
was  at  that  time  entirely  new  modelled,  chiefly  under  the 
superintendence  of  Calvin.  Up  to  the  time  when  Mr.  G. 
left  it,  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  though  improved  with  the 
progress  of  science  chiefly  in  the  Philosophical  branches,  it 
had  undergone  no  material  alteration.  Its  leading  feature 
was  that,  under  a  sole  control  (that  of  the  Professors),  and  as 
a  whole,  it  embraced  education,  from  the  earliest  childhood, 
to  the  time  when  the  student  had  completed  his  Theological 


181 


or  legal  studies.  That  education  was  open  to  all  and  alto- 
gether gratuitous.  The  institution  was  divided  into  two 
departments.  The  lower,  designated  there  by  the  name  of 
college,  consisted  of  nine  classes.  Reading,  writing,  and 
spelling,  were  taught  in  the  three  lowest:  the  six  others 
were  exclusively  devoted  to  the  study  of  Latin  and  Greek; 
and  this  was  the  most  defective  part  of  the  system.  The 
upper  department,  known  there  by  the  name  of  the  Aca- 
demy, was  much  superior  to  the  first,  and  subdivided 
into  two  sections.  One,  which  received  its  students  from  the 
lower  department,  corresponded  exactly  with  our  common 
American  colleges.  The  students  remained  in  it  four  years, 
under  the  tuition  of  professors  of  belles  lettres,  mathematics, 
natural,  and  moral  philosphy.  The  upper  section,  though 
assimilated  to  a  University,  embraced  but  two  faculties, 
that  of  divinity,  and  that  of  law,  the  course  for  each  being  of 
four  years'  duration.  Geneva,  being  the  only  considerable 
seat  of  learning,  where  the  protestant  religion  was  professed 
and  the  French  language  spoken,  attracted  many  students 
from  the  protestant  population  of  France,  and  not  a  few  from 
England  and  Germany,  who  were  desirous  of  acquiring  the 
French  language.  This  contributed  to  the  growth  and  im- 
provement of  the  institution .  Its  principal  merit  consisted  in 
the  excellent  choice  of  professors,  which,  with  hardly  any  ex- 
ception, had  uniformly  fallen  on  the  most  learned  and  distin- 
guished men,  in  every  branch,  that  could  be  obtained.  They 
were  appointed  nominally  by  government  in  fact  by  public 
opinion.  The  compensation  for  each  never  exceeded  five 
hundred  dollars :  but  the  consideration  attached  to  the  place, 


182 

made  it  the  highest  object  of  ambition  to  every  citizen,  how- 
ever favored  by  wealth,  or  other  adventitious  circumstances. 
The  education  was  rather  general  and  correct,  than  profound 
in  any  particular  branch;  rather  calculated  for  general  than 
for  special  purposes ;  intended  to  open  to  the  students,  accord- 
ing to  their  respective  faculties,  the  way  to  the  several  branches 
of  science  and  letters,  and  to  fit  them  all  for  the  pursuits  of 
active  life." 

Mr.  Gallatin  observed,  that  he  had  said  nothing 
on  the  most  important  branch  of  the  subject,  the 
beneficial  effect  of  a  more  diffused  education  on 
the  moral  feeling  of  the  community.  All  were 
agreed  upon  that  point;  and  there  was  no  mem- 
ber of  the  Convention,  who  was  not  capable  of 
expressing  his  sentiments  in  that  respect,  more 
forcibly  and  more  happily  than  himself.  He  would 
only  say,  that  one  of  the  most  powerful  means  to 
preserve  man  from  mistaking  the  road,  even  to 
earthly  happiness,  was  to  teach  him  and  make 
him  feel  the  value  of  intellectual  enjoyments. 
He  concluded,  by  apologizing  for  having  detained 
the  Convention  so  long,  and  for  having  expressed 
with  so  much  freedom  opinions,  some  of  which 
he  was  aware,  did  not  coincide  with  those  of  se- 
veral of  its  respectable  members. 


183 

President  Mason,  of  Geneva  College,  in  the 
state  of  New  York,  was  about  to  explain  the  sys- 
tem pursued  in  that  College,  but  yielded  to  Pro- 
fessor Robinson,  from  the  committee  on  Profes- 
sor Perdicari's  communication. 

Professor  Robinson  presented  and  read  the 
following  report. 

"The  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the 
communication  of  Professor  Perdicari,  on  the  best 
mode  of  teaching  the  Greek  language,  and  on  the 
propriety  of  generally  introducing  the  modern 
Greek  pronunciation,  beg  leave  to  report. 

"  It  is  not  at  present  in  the  power  of  the  commit- 
tee— neither  do  they  suppose  this  to  be  the  proper 
time  or  place,  to  enter  into  a  detailed  discussion 
of  the  principles  and  positions,  advocated  in  the 
communication  before  them;  that  paper  has  been 
heard,  and  listened  to  with  deep  attention  by  the 
Convention,  and  the  impression  received  from  it 
by  each  individual  member  would  probably  be 
neither  confirmed  or  corrected  by  any  thing  which 
the  committee  could  now  offer. 


184 

"The  committee  and  the  Convention  also,  are 
well  aware  of  the  very  defective  manner  in  which 
the  learned  languages  have  formerly  been  taught 
in  our  country. 

"Language,  as  written,  or  oral,  is  addressed  to 
the  eye,  or  to  the  ear. — To  understand  any  living 
language  perfectly,  or  even  well,  it  is  necessary, 
not  only  to  be  able  to  read  it  and  write  it,  with 
ease,  but  also  to  be  able  to  speak  it,  and  to  com- 
prehend it  when  spoken. — These  two  modes  of 
understanding  a  language,  i.  e.  as  written  or  oral, 
are  entirely  distinct  and  different  things. — The 
power  of  receiving  and  communicating  ideas  in 
any  language  on  paper,  may  exist  where  there  is 
no  power  of  doing  this  through  the  medium  of 
speech  and  hearing;  and  so  vice  versa. — To  learn 
a  language  thoroughly,  the  power  of  doing  both 
of  these  things  must  obviously  be  acquired. — Now, 
unfortunately,  all  the  learned  languages,  being  re- 
garded as  no  longer  spoken  languages,  have,  until 
recently,  been  taught  among  us  only  as  written; 
the  sounds  assigned  to  the  words,  if  uttered  at  all, 
being  regarded  merely  as  signs  of  these  written 
words,  and  not  as  signs  of  ideas. — In  addition  to  this, 
almost  the  whole  attention  of  the  learner  has  been 


185 

generally  confined  to  the  reception  of  ideas,  and 
very  little  directed  to  the  communication  of  them, 
i.  e.  he  has  been  usually  taught  to  read  and  under- 
stand a  written  language;  while  it  has  much  more 
seldom  been  made  part  of  his  instruction,  to  ex- 
press his  thoughts  in  that  language  either  orally 
or  by  writing. 

"These  facts  being  admitted,  and  the  committee 
suppose  them,  generally  speaking,  to  be  obvious — 
it  is  very  easy  to  see  why  the  study  of  classical 
literature  has  been  pursued  in  this  country,  with 
comparatively  so  little  success,  and  why  so  many 
who  have  sustained  a  tolerably  high  rank  in  our 
colleges  as  classical  scholars  in  name,  have  after- 
wards entirely  abandoned  the  pursuit. 

"The  remedy  for  this  state  of  things  is  also  obvi- 
ous. It  is  to  introduce  a  more  perfect  mode  of 
teaching;  to  combine  instruction  for  the  eye  and 
for  the  ear,  in  the  manner  pointed  out  by  Profes- 
sor Perdicari,  or  in  some  other  equivalent  way; 
and  more  especially  to  exercise  the  pupil  as  tho- 
roughly and  frequently  in  the  communication  of 
ideas,  both  by  speech  and  writing,  as  is  done  in  re- 
gard to  the  reception  of  them. 

24 


186 

"In  regard  to  the  other  part  of  Professor  Per- 
dicari's  paper,  on  the  propriety  of  generally  intro- 
ducing the  modern  Greek  pronunciation,  the 
Committee  do  not  feel  themselves  prepared  to 
express  any  decided  opinion. — While,  therefore, 
they  would  at  present  waive  this  point,  there  is 
nevertheless  a  subject  intimately  connected  with 
it,  which  the  committee  wish  to  present  to  the 
consideration  of  the  Convention;  not  as  one  on 
which  they  have  made  up  their  own  minds,  but  as 
a  suggestion  worthy  of  serious  enquiry  and  de- 
liberation, viz:  the  propriety  of  introducing  into 
all  our  classical  schools,  the  study  of  the  mo- 
dern Greek  language,  as  auxiliary  to  the  study 
of  the  ancient  Greek. — The  modern  language,  it 
is  true,  has  many  points  of  difference  from  the 
ancient;  but  yet  it  has  many  more  points  of  re- 
semblance, and  even  of  identity  with  it. 

"It  has  seemed  to  the  committee,  that  if  the 
modern  Greek  were  thus  learned,  as  a  living  and 
spoken  language,  in  the  same  manner  that  the 
French  and  other  European  languages  are  now 
learned,  the  effect,  upon  the  study  of  the  ancient 
Greek,  would  be  most  auspicious;  and  that  this 
noble  tongue  would  then  stand  a  chance  to  be 


187 

resuscitated  from  its  living  tomb,  and  enabled  to 
present  itself  before  us  in  something  at  least  of 
its  primitive  melody  and  beauty. — Should  this 
ever  be  done,  the  application  of  the  modern  pro- 
nunciation to  the  ancient  language,  also,  might 
then  receive  a  broader  support  on  the  plea  of 
general  utility. 

Signed,     "Edward  Robinson,  Chairman." 

On  motion  made  and  seconded,  the  report,  as 
read,  was  accepted  and  made  the  order  of  the 
day,  to  be  taken  up  at  the  opening  of  the  session, 
tomorrow  morning  at  ten  o'clock. 

The  Hon.  E.  Livingston,  in  a  forcible  and  perti- 
nent address,  in  relation  to  the  want  in  our  col- 
leges and  Universities  of  professorships  of  the 
principles  of  legislation  and  jurisprudence,  as 
distinct  from  the  professorships  of  existing  law — 
offered  the  following  topic  for  discussion: 

No.  18. — "Resolved,  that  a  Committee  of  five 
members  be  appointed  to  consider  and  report  on 
the  propriety  of  recommending  to  the  different 
Universities   and  colleges  in  the  United  States, 


188 

professorships  of  the  principles  of  legislation  and 
jurisprudence,  as  distinct  from  the  professorships 
of  existing  law." 

Without  discussion,  on  motion  made  and  se- 
conded, the  resolution  offered,  was  carried  in  the 
affirmative. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned,  to  meet  at  10 
o'clock,  tomorrow  morning. 

J.  Delafield,  Secretary. 


189 


Saturday,  2Sd  October,  1830. 

The  President  took  the  chair  at  10  o'clock,  A. 
M.  and  the  members  their  seats:  when  Dr.  Rice 
opened  the  business  of  the  day  with  an  appropri- 
ate prayer. 

The  Secretary  read  the  minutes  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  previous  day. 

The  President  announced  the  following  commit- 
tees: 

ON    UNIVERSITY   AND    COLLEGE   DISCIPLINE. 

Rev.  J.  M.  Wain wright, 
Professor  Silliman, 
Dr.  Rice, 
Professor  Patten, 
Professor  Dewey. 

ON  A  NATIONAL  SCIENTIFIC  AND  LITERARY  SOCIETY. 

Rev.  James  M.  Mathews, 
Hon.  Albert  Gallatin, 
Jared  Sparks, 


190 

Dr.  Lieber, 
President  Marsh, 
Henry  Dwight, 
John  Delafield. 

ON  PROFESSORSHIPS  OF  LEGISLATION  AND 
JURISPRUDENCE. 

Hon.  Edward  Livingston, 
Hon.  Samuel  Jones, 
Hon.  James  Tallmadge, 
Hon.  Samuel  R.  Betts, 
Professor  Adrain, 

Dr.  Coley,  then  read  a  communication  on 
the  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  in 
Great  Britain,  setting  forth  in  detail  the  courses 
pursued  in  those  institutions  from  matriculation 
to  the  several  degrees.  Dr.  Coley  added  an  ac- 
count of  the  course  pursued  in  Trinity  College, 
Dublin.     He  stated  that, 

"The  first  step  upon  entering  these  seminaries,  is  matricu- 
lation, which  is  accomplished  by  an  appearance  before  the 
Vice  Chancellor,  who  after  a  brief  examination  in  the 
Greek  Testament,  and  the  iEneid  of  Virgil,  or  similar  pri- 
mary books,  enrols  the  name  of  the  student  on  the  books 
of  the  University,  and  transfers  him  to  his  college.     In  a 


191 


college  or  hall  at  either  University,  there  are  two  or  more 
tutors,  who  give  separate  lectures  every  day,  exclusive  of 
holidays  and  festivals;  in  Oxford,  these  lectures  consist  of 
translations  from  the  Latin  and  Greek  classics,  (each  student 
following  the  other  in  construing  a  given  number  of  verses  or 
lines  to  the  tutor)  and  in  exercises  in  divinity,  and  logic;  in 
Cambridge  the  exercises  vary  in  one  important  particular, 
mathematics  taking  the  place,  in  a  very  considerable  degree, 
of  the  classics,  and  nearly  superseding  logic;  divinity,  how- 
ever, continuing  the  same  as  at  Oxford.  The  usual  classics 
are  in  the  Latin  language,  Virgil,  Horace,  Sallust,  Ovid, 
Tacitus,  Cicero,  Terence,  Livy,  Juvenal,  Martial,  &c. ;  in  the 
Greek,  Herodotus,  Xenophen,  Thucydides,  Pausanias, 
Homer,  Pindar,  Anacreon,  yEschylus,  Sophocles,  Euripides, 
Aristophanes,  &c. 

"Dr.  Watt's  Logic  is  the  work  in  general  use  in  that 
science;  and  in  mathematics,  and  the  higher  sciences  Euclid, 
and  the  optics  and  principia  of  Newton,  (the  Philosophia 
Naturalis  principia  Mathematica),  Plato,  and  Aristotle. 

"A  student  pursues  his  studies  for  two  years  under  the  sole 
superintendence  of  his  tutor,  or  for  eight  terms,  which  occupy 
about  two  years,  when  he  is  required  to  pass  a  public  exami- 
nation, termed  "his  responsions,"  and  which  consist  in  a 
trial  of  his  ability,  in  construing  one  Latin  and  one  Greek 
author,  in  his  examination  in  Logic,  and  in  the  six  first  books 
of  Euclid,  and  also  in  one  of  the  Gospels;  after  this  respon- 
sion,  for  which  he  receives  a  certificate  if  successful,  he 


192 

returns  to  his  usual  course  of  study,  and  at  the  expiration  of 
eight  terms  more  he  claims  his  bachelor's  degree  by  giving 
in  two  Latin,  and  two  Greek  authors,  the  whole  of  Euclid, 
Logic,  and  the  four  Gospels;  an  examination  in  these  will 
suffice  for  his  degree,  but  if  he  be  desirous  of  taking  honors, 
as  they  are  called,  he  may  give  in  for  his  examination,  the 
whole  range  of  classic  authors,  Newton's  Principia,  and  the 
Poetics  and  Rhetoric  of  Aristotle,  besides  the  whole  subject 
of  Divinity;  if  his  answers  are  perfectly  satisfactory,  he  is 
admitted  "first  classman;"  if  not,  in  proportion  to  the  excel- 
lence of  his  answers,  he  is  rewarded  by  a  second  or  third 
class-ship,  beyond  which  there  is  no  distinction;  when  it  is 
asserted  that  out  of  a  number  of  from  one  to  two  hundred, 
not  more  than  five  or  six  gain  the  first  distinction,  the  severity 
of  their  examination  may  be  imagined. 

"The  above  is  the  course  of  study  adopted  at  Oxford;  in 
Cambridge  it  is  similar  in  the  general  bearings,  with  the  ex- 
ception that  a  distinguished  proficiency  in  mathematics  is 
more  valued  than  a  similar  ability  in  classics,  and  that  in 
addition  to  the  honors  of  class-ship,  a  separate  rank  is  created 
for  the  most  distinguished  scholar,  under  the  title  of  Senior 
Wrangler,  the  student  next  to  him  in  ability  being  entitled 
the  Junior  Wrangler.  A  bachelorship  in  arts  thus  obtained, 
is  the  necessary  preliminary  to  an  entrance  into  any  of  the 
three  professions — Divinity,  Law,  or  Physic;  the  next  honor 
is  likewise  common  to  the  three  professions,  viz:  "a  Master  of 
Arts,"  which  is  gained  by  a  residence  of  sixteen  terms  more, 
although  the  necessity  of  attending  lectures  discontinues; 


193 


the  examination  for  this  degree  is  not  severe,  the  former 
subjects  treated  of  are  renewed  in  the  trial,  and  there  is 
hardly  an  instance  known  of  a  failure,  although  a  considera- 
ble number  of  candidates  for  the  bachelor's  degree  are  rejected, 
or  as  it  is  commonly  called  "plucked."  After  the  master's  de- 
gree, if  further  honors  are  contemplated,  the  choice  of  a  pro- 
fession is  necessary;  twelve  terms  added  to  a  master's  degree 
entitles  a  man  to  claim  his  bachelorship  of  faculty,  that  is,  a 
bachelor  of  divinity,  a  bachelor  of  civil  law,  or  a  bachelor 
of  physic;  the  examination  for  these  degrees  is  trivial  to  the 
individual  who  has  undergone  the  previous  ordeals,  and 
having  taken  the  degree,  he  has  but  to  wait  sixteen  terms 
longer  to  demand  his  full  honor  as  Doctor  of  Divinity, 
Law,  or  Physic. 

"The  individuals  who  constitute  the  University  of  Oxford, 
are — the  Chancellor  (always  a  nobleman  educated  at  the 
University),  the  Vice  Chancellor,  elected  by  the  heads  of 
houses  (the  colleges  and  halls),  the  proctors,  elected  by  the 
masters  of  arts,  and  who  are  in  fact  the  police  magis- 
trates of  the  University,  the  fellows,  scholars  and  exhibi- 
tioners of  colleges,  the  masters  and  bachelors  of  arts,  and  the 
undergraduates,  as  those  gentlemen  are  called,  who  have  not 
taken  a  degree;  besides  these  grand  distinctions,  there  are 
officers  connected  with  the  dignity,  police  and  pecuniary  af- 
fairs of  the  University,  and  a  peculiar  class  of  students  term- 
ed gentlemen-commoners  in  some  of  the  colleges,  who  pay 
a  higher  sum  for  accommodation,  wear  a  more  splendid 

dress,  and  are  entitled  to  claim  their  degree  at  rather  an  ear- 

25 


194 


lier  period  than  the  common  student.    There  are  also  the 
professors  of  the  University,  consisting  of  Regius  professors 
of  Divinity,  Hebrew,  Greek,  Civil  law,  Physic;  all  of  whom 
are  appointed  by  the  King. 
Margaret,  Professor  of  Divinity, 
Vinerian,  Professor  of  Common  Law, 
Savillian,  Professor  of  Astronomy, 

,  Professor  of  Geometry, 

Litchfield,  Professor  of  Clinical  Medicine, 
Aldrichian,  Professor  of  Physic, 

,  Professor  of  Chemistry, 

,  Professor  of  Anatomy, 

Laud's,  Professor  of  Arabic, 
Lord  Almoner's,  Professor  of  Arabic, 
These  professors  are  appointed  in  the  manner  prescribed  by 
the  wills  of  the  founders  of  the  professorships.    There  is  also  a 
Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy, 
History, 
Botany, 
Poetry, 

Mineralogy  and  Geology, 
Music, 
Anglo-Saxon. 


These  professors  are  appointed  by  the  Vice  Chancellor  and 
the  heads  of  houses,  in  convocation  assembled. 

"The  scholars,  exhibitioners,  and  fellows  of  the  various  col- 
leges, are  appointed  in  general  under  the  conditions  required 


195 


by  the  respective  founders;  but  there  are  a  few  scholarships, 
exhibitionships,  and  fellowships  of  the  University,  which 
may  be  gained,  and  their  emoluments  enjoyed  by  the  candi- 
date who,  at  a  public  and  severe  examination,  proves  a  supe- 
rior ability  to  his  fellows. 

"The  Vice-Chancellor  is  elected  by  the  heads  of  the  col- 
leges and  halls,  every  three  years;  the  office  of  Chancellor  is 
for  life,  and  is  conferred  by  the  graduates  of  the  University, 
at  a  regular  poll,  if  there  be  more  than  one  candidate;  the 
heads  of  houses  are  elected  according  to  the  forms  directed 
by  the  will  of  the  founder  of  the  college,  by  the  fellows  of 
the  society. 

"It  will  be  seen  that  the  usual  course  of  study,  consists  of 
classical  literature,  logic  and  mathematics,  all  of  which  may 
be  pursued  within  the  precincts  of  the  college,  but  when  the 
student  wishes  to  gain  information  on  astronomy,  history, 
or  botany,  physic,  anatomy,  &c.  he  has  to  attend  the  classes 
of  the  professors  upon  those  sciences,  beyond  the  walls  of  his 
college. 

"This  statement  may  be  sufficient  to  display  the  general 
mode  of  instruction  in  the  English  Universities,  but  it  is  a 
mere  outline. 

"It  is  necessary  to  add,  that  in  Cambridge,  there  is  a  class 
of  poor  students  called  Sizars,  supported  upon  the  foundation 
of  different  colleges,  and  entitled  to  every  distinction  in  com- 


196 


mon  with  others,  in  the  forms  of  class-ships,  prizes,  ho- 
nors, &c. 

"The  Cambridge  professorships  are  as  follows: — 

"  Regius  Professors  of  Divinity,  Civil  Law,  Physic,  Hebrew, 
Greek;  in  the  gift  of  the  King. 

Lord  Almoners,  Professor  of  Arabic. 

Plumian,  Professor  of  Astronomy, 

Woodwardian,  Lecturer, 

Norrisian,  Professor, 

Jacksonian,  Professor, 

Lownde's,  Astronomical  Professor, 

Hulsean,  Lecturer, 

Margaret,  Professor  of  Divinity, 

Margaret,  Preacher, 

Christian,  Advocate, 
Appointed  under  the  regulations  prescribed  by  the  founders. 

Professor  of  Arabic, 
Mathematics, 
Casuistical  Professor, 
Chemistry, 
Anatomy, 
Modern  History, 
Botany, 
Common  Law, 
Medicine, 
Mineralogy, 
Appointed  by  the  Senate  of  the  University. 


197 


"The  University  of  Dublin  consists  of  one  great  college — 
'  Trinity  College' — which  is  incorporated  under  the  go- 
vernment of  a  Provost,  seven  senior  and  fifteen  junior  fel- 
lows; the  plan  of  education  is  very  different  to  the  one  pur- 
sued in  the  sister  country.  In  the  first  place,  matriculation 
is  much  more  difficult,  and  according  to  the  ability  displayed 
in  an  examination  every  quarter,  the  student  gains  what  is 
called  his  matriculation  rank,  and  which  merely  consists  in 
giving  his  name  precedence  in  the  quarterly  admission  roll 
of  the  University;  not  more  than  a  third  of  the  number  of 
students  can  reside  within  the  walls  of  Trinity  College,  but 
they  all  assemble  at  an  early  hour  of  the  morning,  and  pursue 
their  studies  until  noon.  The  most  striking  peculiarity  in 
the  Dublin  University,  is  the  privilege  allowed  to  students  to 
choose  their  own  tutors.  The  seven  senior  fellows  take 
no  share  in  the  daily  instruction  of  youth,  and  out  of  the 
fifteen  juniors,  any  youth  who  has  matriculated,  may  choose 
one  for  his  tutor,  join  his  class,  paying  the  fees  separately  to 
him,  and  remain  completely  under  his  direction,  during  lec- 
ture hours.  Quarterly  examinations  take  place  under  the 
direction  of  the  senior  fellows :  these  examinations  take  the 
place  of  the  English  responsions,  and  the  same  time  is  re- 
quired to  take  the  bachelor's  degree,  viz.  sixteen  terms,  and 
so  also  with  respect  to  the  higher  degrees. 

"There  are  a  certain  number  of  Sizars  in  Trinity  College, 
who  are  admitted  upon  the  foundation,  and  educated  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  rest  of  the  students;  their  privileges  are 


198 


to  rent  a  chamber,  at  a  very  trifling  cost,  to  have  their  din- 
ners free,  and  to  pay  a  smaller  sum  than  usual  upon  taking 
a  degree;  they  are  admitted  to  their  situations  by  a  very  rigid 
examination  in  the  classics,  and  perhaps  out  of  the  considera- 
ble number  of  poor  young  men  who  offer  themselves  quarter- 
ly as  candidates,  not  more  than  six  or  eight  generally  succeed 
in  the  object  of  their  ambition. 

"There  are  sixty  scholars  in  Trinity  College,  consisting  of 
students  who  have  stood  the  test  of  the  most  severe  classical 
examination  perhaps  in  the  empire;  in  this  trial,  classics  form 
the  whole  subject,  and  the  Provost  is  generally  the  Exami- 
ner; the  Latin  and  Greek  historians  and  poets,  in  translation, 
the  composition  of  verses  and  theses,  the  varieties  of  metre, 
&c.  are  all  required  from  the  candidate  for  a  scholarship; 
the  privileges  of  this  grade,  are  £20  per  annum — rather  a 
better  dinner  than  the  ordinary  students,  and  what  is  consid- 
ered as  the  most  important  privilege,  a  vote  at  the  election  of 
a  member  of  parliament  for  the  University. 

"The  junior  fellows  are  elected  from  the  mass  of  gradu- 
ates; any  bachelor  of  arts  is  eligible  to  a  trial  for  this  distinc- 
tion; the  examination  is  public,  and  takes  place  on  four  suc- 
cessive days,  four  hours  being  employed  each  day;  the  whole 
of  the  examinations  are  in  the  Latin  language,  and  are  thus 
divided  and  conducted : — 

The  first  two  hours  of  the  first  day,         Logic, 

The  second  two  hours  of  the  first  day,    Mathematics, 


199 


The  first  two  hours  of  the  2d  day,  Physics, 

The  second  two  hours  of  the  2d  day,  Ethics, 

The  first  two  hours  of  the  3d  day,  Hebrew  &  Greek. 

The  second  two  hours  of  the  3d  day,  Latin    construed 

into  different  Latin  from  that  of  the  author. 

The  first  two  hours  of  the  4th  day,  Chronology, 

The  second  two  hours  of  the  4th  day,  History. 

"The  professors  of  these  sciences  and  languages  examine 
and  pass  one  question  if  unanswered  to  the  next  candidate, 
and  at  the  close  of  the  examination,  that  individual  who  has 
replied  to  the  greatest  number  of  questions,  is  proclaimed  the 
new  fellow;  this  is  an  examination  I  believe  without  its  pa- 
rallel in  Europe,  for  severity  and  extent  of  subject. 

"There  are  twelve  professors  of  Trinity  College: — 
The  king's  Professor  in  Divinity, 

Civil  Law, 

Greek, 
Lecturer  in  Divinity, 

"The  Professors  of  Common  Law,  Physic,  French  and 
German,  Spanish  and  Italian,  the  Andrews  Professor  of  As- 
tronomy, Anatomy,  Chemistry  and  Botany." 

On  motion  duly  made  and  seconded,  the  thanks 
of  the  Convention  were  voted  to  Dr.  Coley,  for 
his  interesting  communication. 


200 

Mr.  Jared  Sparks  then  presented  a  communica- 
tion on  the  defects  of  the  present  system  of  edu- 
cation, by  Lieut.  D.  H.  Mahan,  of  the  United 
States'  corps  of  Engineers  at  West  Point.  At 
the  request  of  Mr.  Sparks,  the  communication 
was  laid  on  the  Secretary's  table. 

Mr.  F.  Hasler  presented  a  communication 
"upon  College  and  University  discipline."  This 
paper  was  also  placed  on  the  Secretary's  table. 

A  paper  was  then  presented,  entitled  "Sugges- 
tions on  the  proper  mode  of  conducting  instruc- 
tion in  Universities." 

And  a  communication,  entitled  "Brief  outline 
of  the  history  of  education  in  Spain." 

These  papers  were  also  placed   on  the  Secre 
tary's  table. 

Mr.  Jared  Sparks  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion. 

Resolved  that  a  committee  of  three  members 
be  appointed  to  consider  and  report  at  the  next 


201 

meeting  of  this  Convention,  on  the  expediency 
and  advantages  of  establishing  professorships  of 
history  in  our  Universities,  with  the  special 
design  of  communicating  instruction  on  the  politi- 
cal and  social  progress  of  the  nations  of  Europe, 
as  tending  to  develop  and  illustrate  the  princi- 
ples of  our  government  and  civil  institutions. 

On  motion  made  and  seconded,  the  question 
was  taken  and  carried  in  the  affirmative. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  appointed,  a 
committee  on  the  foregoing  resolution. 

Mr.  Jared  Sparks, 

Mr.  Wm.  C.  Woodbridge, 

Dr.  Lieber. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Jared  Sparks,  it  was 

Resolved,  that  a  committee  of  three  members  be 
appointed  to  procure  information  respecting  the 
history  and  present  state  of  the  "London  Uni- 
versity," and  of  "King's  College,"  in  London, 
with  all  convenient  speed,  particularly  in  regard 
to  their  organization,  discipline  and  mode  of  in- 
struction, and  that  they  be  requested  to  report 

26 


202 

thereon,  to  the  Secretary  of  this  meeting,  as  soon 
as  the  information  be  obtained,  that  the  same  may 
be  published. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  appointed  a 
committee  under  the  foregoing  resolution. 

Mr.  Theo.  D.  Woolsey, 
Mr.  Jared  Sparks, 
Col.  Knapp. 

The  order  of  the  day  was  then  called  for,  being 
the  report  of  the  committee  on  Mr.  Perdicari's 
communication. 

Mr.  Perdicari  addressed  the  meeting,  and  apolo- 
gized for  introducing  the  subject  of  instruction  in 
modern  Greek  at  this  Convention.  Mr.  Perdicari 
expressed  himself  satisfied  with  the  report  of  the 
committee,  though  it  had  not  ventured  to  express 
an  opinion  in  relation  to  the  adoption  of  the 
modern  Greek  pronunciation. 

Professor  Robinson,  and  Professor  Patten,  both 
of  the  committee, — explained  that  they  were  not 
prepared  to  give  an  opinion  at  this  time,  on  the 
modern  Greek  pronunciation. 


203 

On  motion  made  and  seconded,  the  report  of 
the  committee  was  laid  on  the  table. 

Dr.  Emory  begged  leave  to  withdraw  two  topics 
presented  by  him  on  a  former  day,  and  numbered 
on  the  Secretary's  list,  as  numbers  eleven  and 
twelve.     Agreed  to. 

Dr.  Hamm,  of  Ohio,  Charge  d'Affaires  of  the 
United  States,  to  the  Republic  of  Chili,  was  intro- 
duced and  took  his  seat. 

The  committee  of  arrangements  then  proposed  a 
continuation  of  the  discussion  on  "the  advantages 
of  a  preparatory  college  in  connexion  with  a  Uni- 
versity, in  which  should  be  taught,  mathematics, 
physical  and  moral  science,  English  literature, 
and  belles  letters — not  to  the  exclusion  of  clas- 
sical learning, — but  making  it  a  voluntary,  in- 
stead of  an  indispensable  branch  of  study. 

Mr.  Gallaudet,  of  Hartford,  addressed  the  meet- 
ing.    He  observed, 

"That  he  had  no  doubt  he  expressed  the  sentiments  of 
all  present,  in  alluding  to  the  great  entertainment  as  well  as 


204 


instruction  which  had  been  afforded  the  Convention,  by  the 
profound  and  eloquent  remarks  of  the  gentleman  who  spoke 
on  this  subject  the  preceding  evening  (Mr.  Gallatin).  That 
gentleman  uttered  a  sentiment  in  one  short  sentence,  which 
Mr.  G.  would  make  the  basis  of  what  he  had  now  to  offer. 

"'How  many  other  languages  was  it  necessary  for  an  an- 
cient Greek  to  study,  before  he  could  become  acquainted  his 
own?' 

"In  conducting  the  education  of  youth,  and  in  adapting 
the  course  to  be  pursued  to  the  peculiar  exigencies  of  indi- 
viduals, and  to  the  wants  of  the  public  at  large,  it  is  a  very 
interesting  question  to  be  settled,  whether  one  cannot  become 
a  perfect  English  scholar,  without  studying  the  Latin  and 
Greek  classics.  Mr.  G.  thought  this  quite  practicable,  pre- 
cisely for  the  same  reason,  that  a  Roman  or  Greek  youth 
could  become  master  of  his  own  language,  without  the  aid  of 
any  other.  Tell  me  the  process,  by  which  a  Roman  child 
was  led  to  understand  the  import  of  words  in  Latin,  and 
their  construction  into  sentences,  and  I  will  show  you  that 
the  same  process  can  be  pursued  with  an  American  child  in 
teaching  him  English. 

"Mr.  G.  said,  he  wished  it  distinctly  to  be  understood  that 
he  did  not  intend,  by  any  means,  to  decry  the  study  of  the 
dead  languages;  on  the  contrary,  he  considered  this  study 
as  of  the  highest  value.  He  would  have  them  pursued  to 
their  full  extent,  at  the  college  proposed  to  be  connected  with 


205 


the  University;  he  would  give  to  all  the  opportunity  of  be- 
coming perfect  masters  of  Latin  and  Greek,  but,  at  the  same 
time,  he  thought  there  might  be  peculiar  cases  in  which  the 
privileges  of  the  college  should  be  granted  to  individuals, 
who  might  wish  to  dispense  with  the  study  of  the  dead  lan- 
guages, and  substitute  others  in  their  stead.  Washington 
and  Franklin  wrote  English  with  great  clearness,  chaste- 
ness,  and  force;  the  former  knew  nothing  of  Latin  or  Greek, 
and  the  latter  was  far  from  being  a  classical  scholar.  Many 
persons  who  have  not  had  a  liberal  education,  have  a  much 
greater  command  of  the  English  language  than  some  of 
those  who  have  enjoyed  this  privilege. 

"There  are  some  disadvantages  in  a  lad's  commencing  the 
study  of  the  dead  languages  at  a  very  early  age,  which  need 
to  be  guarded  against  with  great  caution.  He  begins  before 
he  is  well  acquainted  with  his  mother  tongue.  He  acquires 
the  meaning  of  Latin  words,  by  ascertaining  from  his  dic- 
tionary the  corresponding  English  words.  But  if  he  knows 
not  the  meaning  of  the  latter,  their  precise  and  accurate 
meaning,  how  can  he  understand  the  import  of  the  former? 
He  may  even  translate  from  Latin  into  English,  fluently, 
correctly,  and  elegantly,  by  knowing  that  certain  words  are 
to  be  rendered  by  certain  other  words,  and  to  be  arranged  in 
a  certain  order,  which  he  is  enabled  to  give  them,  in  a  mecha- 
nical way,  by  his  knowledge  of  the  grammatical  termina- 
tions and  inflections,  and  yet  know  very  little  of  the  mean- 
ing and  spirit  of  the  author.  He  may  thus  become  a  good 
linguist,  in  one  sense  of  the  term,  but  a  miserable  logician. 


206 


"There  is  often  a  great  deception  in  all  this  matter  of  boys 
translating  readily  at  school,  which  demands  great  attention 
on  the  part  of  the  teacher. 

"A  boy  should  understand  his  mother  tongue  well  before 
he  enters  upon  the  study  of  a  dead  language;  or  at  any  rate, 
he  should  be  made  perfect  master  of  the  meaning  of  all  the 
words  which  are  necessary  to  furnish  him  with  a  translation 
of  the  particular  author  which  he  is  studying. 

"In  all  our  colleges,  or  at  least,  in  almost  all,  no  lad  can  en- 
joy their  benefits  without  devoting  a  very  considerable  time  to 
the  study  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages.  This  is  a 
hard  case.  It  is  too  exclusive.  The  circumstances  of  the 
parent  may  not  permit  this — the  peculiar  taste  and  habits  of 
the  child  may  not  justify  it — his  future  pursuits  in  life  may 
not  require  it.  Some  have  a  very  strong  passion  for  the 
sciences,  the  principles  of  which,  especially  in  our  country, 
are  susceptible  of  a  very  extensive  application  to  the  useful 
arts,  to  the  comforts,  the  conveniences,  and  the  luxuries  of 
life. 

"Rare  talents  in  this  branch  of  knowledge,  the  sciences, 
are  continually  developing  themselves  Shall  the  commu- 
nity be  deprived  of  these  talents?  Shall  those  who  possess 
them,  and  who  aspire  to  become  an  honor  to  their  country 
and  a  blessing  to  mankind,  be  excluded  from  an  institution 
where  they  can  enjoy  the  advantages  of  a  liberal  education, 
because  they  have  no  taste,  or  no  wish,  to  pursue  one  depart- 


207 


merit  of  such  an  education,  the  study  of  the  Latin  and 
Greek  languages?  This  is  too  much  in  imitation  of  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees  of  old,  who  kept  the  key  of  know- 
ledge within  their  own  grasp. 

"At  any  rate,  is  not  the  experiment  worth  making?  and 
while  our  other  higher  institutions  require  the  dead  languages 
to  be  pursued,  and  while  even  this  preparatory  college,  to  be 
connected  with  the  University,  makes  them  a  part  of  the 
course  of  study,  and  furnishes  every  facility  for  the  acquire- 
ment of  them,  ought  it  not  to  present  itself  to  the  patronage 
of  the  public,  as  affording  all  the  other  means  of  acquiring 
a  first  rate  education,  to  those  who  may  make  great  and  use- 
ful men,  without  becoming  adepts  in  the  Greek  and  Latin 
languages?" 

Dr.  Lieber  claimed  the  attention  of  the  meet- 
ing for  a  few  minutes, — he  was  fully  aware  how 
precious  the  present  moments  were, — he  desired 
only  to  reply  to  some  remarks  of  the  gentleman 
(Mr.  Gallaudet)  who  had  so  eloquently  spoken  on 
the  subject.  As  to  the  proposal  to  try  a  liberal 
education  without  the  study  of  the  classics,  he 
would  direct  the  attention  of  the  Convention  to 
several  very  successful  trials  already  made — as  for 
instance,  the  Ecole  Polytechnic  in  Paris,  and  a 
new  school  of  a  higher  character  at  Berlin. 


208 

In  that  city  Professor  Fisher,  the  well  known 
natural  philosopher  (and  at  the  same  time  a  gen- 
tleman of  very  classical  erudition),  had  urged  the 
government  to  establish  higher  schools,  without 
classical  study,  for  those  who  did  not  intend  to  visit 
the  University,  because,  for  such  individuals,  natu- 
ral philosophy,  natural  history  and  several  other 
branches  were  of  by  far  greater  importance  than 
Greek  and  Latin,  and  it  was  utterly  impossible  to 
introduce  all  these  branches  into  the  gymnasiums 
already  existing;  it  was  utterly  impossible,  be- 
cause time  could  not  be  found.  Dr.  Lieber  agreed 
with  the  gentleman  who  had  spoken  before  him, 
that  institutions  for  a  liberal  education  should 
exist,  in  which  the  classical  studies  were  not  pur- 
sued; but  he  did  not  wish  to  restrain  the  study  of 
the  classics  to  so  few  institutions  as  he  believed 
was  the  wish  of  the  gentleman  who  spoke  before 
him,  if  he  understood  him  right.  He  knew  that 
there  was  by  no  means  time  to  give  his  reasons  at 
full  length;  he  intended  to  touch  briefly  a  few  re- 
marks only  which  had  been  made  before  him. 
Mr.  Gallaudet  had  somewhat  ridiculed  the  idea  that 
the  knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek  was  necessa- 
ry to  understand  our  language  thoroughly,  because 
its  etymology  would  not  be  understood  without 


209 

them.  Now  Dr.  Lieber  could  not  find  any  thing 
ridiculous  in  this  idea.  He  firmly  believed  that  it 
was  impossible  to  understand  the  etymology  of  the 
English  language,  without  a  knowledge  of  two 
ancient  languages,  and  at  the  same  time  that  it  was 
impossible  to  keep  a  language  in  its  purity  if  there 
were  not  always  a  large  number  of  men  who  un- 
derstood its  etymology,  just  as  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  keep  up  a  sound  knowledge  of  the  Bible  if 
there  were  not  always  a  number  of  men  who  un- 
derstood thoroughly  the  languages  in  which  the 
scriptures  were  originally  written.  It  had  been 
said  that  Franklin  was  one  of  the  purest  English 
writers,  and  yet  he  never  had  received  a  classical 
education;  he  (Dr.  Lieber)  had  always  believed 
that  Franklin  was  a  fair  Latin  scholar,  but  even 
if  he  had  not  been  such,  it  seemed  to  Dr.  Lieber 
undeniable,  that  Franklin  had  formed  his  style 
after  English  models,  upon  whom  the  influence  of 
classical  study  was  evident.  It  has  been  often 
asked,  what  is  Latin  and  Greek?  how  is  it  possi- 
ble to  give  such  an  importance  to  two  languages 
spoken  by  nations  who  thousands  of  years  ago 
disappeared  from  the  stage  of  history?  Certainly 
it  is  remarkable  that  these  two  languages  should 

have  retained  such  an  importance  for  centuries 

27 


210 

with  all  civilized  nations;  yet  there  is  good  ground 
for  it.  As  to  the  Greek  language,  it  appeared  to 
him  a  similar  case  as  with  the  Greek  arts.  Is  it 
not  remarkable  that  every  one  who  wishes  to 
acquire  great  knowledge  and  skill  in  the  fine 
arts,  should  be  obliged  to  return  to  those  of 
Greece?  and  yet  it  is  so,  and  it  is  necessary. 
There  are  periods  in  history,  which  by  singular 
co-operation,  by  a  happy  constellation  of  circum- 
stances, to  express  it  rather  more  accurately,  pro- 
duce effects,  which  only  can  be  produced  just  un- 
der these  circumstances,  and  never  again,  as 
never  precisely  the  same  circumstances,  in  pre- 
cisely the  same  proportions,  could  return.  Other 
effects,  equally  important,  can  be,  and  are  produ- 
ced, but  not  the  same.  Such  peculiarly  happy  his- 
torical constellation,  if  it  is  allowed  to  use  this 
expression,  was  it  which  produced  in  Greece  that 
high  degree  of  perfection  in  which  they  cultivated 
their  fine  arts,  that  they  have  ever  since  remained 
in  most  respects  a  model  for  all  ages  and  countries, 
though  mankind  have  changed  religion,  sciences, 
languages,  the  very  morality  and  every  view  of 
public  and  private  fife.  And  though  attempts 
have  been  made  to  deviate  from  these  models,  they 
carry  perfection  with  them  in  such  a  degree  that 


211 

they  bind  us  to  acknowledge  them.  We  may  wil- 
lingly do  so  or  not.  And  such  a  peculiarly  happy 
constellation  was  it,  in  his  opinion,  under  which 
flourished  that  beautiful  idiom,  that  never  equalled 
language  of  ancient  Greece.  It  often  appeared 
to  him  that  all  the  languages  of  modern  times 
with  which  he  was  acquainted,  were  more  or  less 
skilful  contrivances,  to  overcome  that  great  diffi- 
culty, which  arises  from  the  want  and  necessity 
to  express  in  forms  imperceptible  and  spiritual 
ideas;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  the  dialect  of 
Hellas  appeared  like  an  idiom  given  from  heaven, 
and  finished  with  so  fine  an  organization,  with 
so  pure  a  symmetry,  so  harmonious  a  sound,  such 
youthful  vigour,  as  constitute  the  living  elements 
of  uninterrupted  development.  He  liked  English, 
for  its  conciseness  and  great  descriptiveness,  for  its 
peculiar  strength  in  eloquence;  he  liked  German 
for  its  abundant  riches,  its  great  power  of  composi- 
tion and  decomposition,  its  metaphysical  power  in 
prose,  and  its  lyrical  vigor  in  poetry;  he  liked 
Italian  for  its  graceful  suavity,  its  redounding 
strength,  and  its  delightful  harmony;  he  liked 
French  for  its  poignancy,  its  preciseness,  its  pli- 
ability and  gracefulness  in  every  respect  which 
regards  social  intercouse;  he  liked  Spanish  for  its 


212 

grandeur  and  almost  pompous  character;  he  liked 
the  idiom  of  of  Camoens,  he  liked  the  Sclavonian 
language,  for  its  rich  and  beautiful  grammar, 
and  the  great  treasure  of  its  words.  But, 
more  than  all  these,  he  liked  the  language  of 
Greece,  because  it  united  all  these  beauties,  and 
offered  many,  many  more.  Certainly  he  could 
not  venture  to  prove  this  now.  And  could  it  be 
necessary?  All  those  who  agreed  with  him  in 
considering  Greek  the  most  beautiful,  most  philo- 
sophical, most  perfect  language  on  the  record  of 
civilization,  would  no  doubt  also  agree  with  him 
in  considering  the  study  of  this  magnificent  lan- 
guage, a  most  important  branch  of  liberal  educa- 
tion. If  it  is  important  to  study  nature,  how  can 
it  be  less  important  to  study  languages,  these  im- 
pressions of  our  intellectual  nature?  What  is 
language?  It  is  not  only  the  means  of  commu- 
nicating our  ideas,  but  language  is  also  the  form 
in  which  we  think,  a  very  part  of  ourselves.  To 
study,  then,  the  most  perfect  of  languages,  no 
doubt  must  be  very  important.  As  to  the  Latin 
language,  he  could  not  think  it  so  perfect  a  lan- 
guage as  the  Greek,  yet  it  is  a  very  perfect  one; 
and  so  much  they  seemed  to  him  superior  to  the 
modern  languages  of  Europe,  that  a  thorough  study 


213 

of  either  would  have  a  decided  influence  upon  the 
logical  thinking  of  a  student.  Besides,  the  Latin 
language  was  the  language  of  all  Christianity  in 
the  middle  ages,  and  so  much  is  this  language 
connected,  even  now,  with  almost  every  branch, 
that  we  can  hardly  make  a  few  steps  without  hav- 
ing occasion  for  the  knowledge  of  Latin,  or  the 
wish  to  possess  such.  It  had  been  very  often 
asserted,  if  the  influence  of  the  study  of  the  an- 
cient languages  on  our  minds  has  been  extolled, 
that  with  a  young  pupil,  all  this  so  called  study, 
could  not  be  any  thing  else  than  a  mere  matter  of 
memory.  Dr.  Lieber  allowed  this,  but  he  asked, 
what  subject  ever  could  be,  with  a  young  scholar, 
any  thing  else  at  the  commencement,  for  a  great 
part,  but  matter  of  memory.  The  child  imitates 
and  commits  to  memory,  whilst  the  riper  age  di- 
gests and  thinks  independently.  If  a  classical 
study  had  not  proved  very  useful  in  this  country, 
as  some  gentlemen  had  asserted,  he  would  impute 
this  rather  to  the  way  in  which  these  languages 
were  pursued,  than  to  the  languages  themselves;  he 
could  not  believe,  that  in  this  country,  where  all 
matters  had  taken  a  practical  turn,  any  danger 
was  to  be  apprehended  from  too  extensive  a  study 
of  the  classical  languages. 


214 

President  Marsh  said,  that  Mr.  Gallaudet  had, 
in  some  degree,  anticipated  him;  he  did  not  think 
that  sufficient  justice  had  been  done  to  the  depart- 
ment of  the  English  language  in  our  colleges. — 
He  hoped  it  would  receive  more  attention — he 
considered  philology  as  ranking  among  the  most 
important  sciences — nevertheless,  he  thought  the 
study  of  Latin  and  Greek  as  well  calculated  to 
discipline  the  mind,  and  in  his  view  the  study  of 
the  Greek  language  was  even  superior  to  that  of 
the  English,  in  enabling  a  youth  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  his  own  mind. 

Professor  Patten  begged  to  state  a  few  reasons, 
why  the  plan  proposed  and  under  discussion, 
would  not  subserve  the  cause  of  sound  literature; 
he  would  disclaim  any  enthusiasm  in  favor  of 
classical  literature,  but  he  could  not  conceive  of 
any  studies  better  adapted  to  develop  and  strength- 
en the  powers  of  the  mind,  than  those  of  mathe- 
matics, and  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages.  The 
study  of  these  languages  has  the  sanction  of  an- 
tiquity. The  Greek  claims  a  superiority  over  all 
other  languages;  its  perfect  character,  when  it  is 
studied,  has  a  very  powerful  and  happy  effect  upon 
the  youthful  mind.  He  believed  the  study  of  Greek 


215 

and  Latin,  if  properly  conducted,  would  have  a 
tendency  to  make  the  student  perfectly  acquainted 
with  his  own  language.  He  urged,  that  the  stan- 
dard of  a  liberal  education  should  not  be  lowered; 
and  that  in  order  to  qualify  for  commercial  pur- 
suits, it  is  important  that  classical  studies  should 
be  attended  to  in  early  life. 

President  Mason  proposed  a  medium  course; 
he  was  attached  to  the  dead  languages;  it  had 
been  urged,  that  all  youth  were  not  endowed  with 
capacities  for  acquiring  Greek  and  Latin;  but 
there  was  a  repugnance  to  the  study  of  languages 
which  should  not  be  easily  yielded  to.  True 
there  may  be  cases  of  incapacity;  and  they  should 
not  be  urged  to  it;  the  faculties  of  the  mind  are 
called  forth  in  some  at  a  later  period  than  in  oth- 
ers. His  own  experience  was  not  sufficient  to 
produce  a  decided  opinion;  the  practice  of  the  in- 
stitution over  which  he  presided,  pursued  the  me- 
dium course;  they  have  established  an  academic 
school  in  connexion  with  the  college,  an  English 
course  of  studies  is  pursued  in  connexion  with  the 
classical  course;  but  with  special  reference  to  the 
English  students,  they  have  added  instruction  in 
the  French  language  and  literature  as  a  substi- 


216 

tute  for  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages — students 
who  pass  regularly  through  the  English  course  will 
receive  an  English  diploma;  the  success,  how- 
ever, appeared  to  him  doubtful. — He  believed  we 
ought  ever  to  offer  powerful  inducement,  but  no 
compulsion,  in  favor  of  the  study  of  the  dead  lan- 
guages. They  are  the  keys  to  our  modern  lan- 
guages. Let  us  be  careful  not  to  run  into  ex- 
tremes, nor  to  give  up  the  model  we  have  carefully 
cherished  for  so  many  years. 

Dr.  Wain wright,  as  chairman  of  the  the  com- 
mittee of  arrangements,  regretted  the  necessity  of 
now  interrupting  so  interesting  a  discussion,  the 
hour  of  adjournment  was  at  hand,  and  some  neces- 
sary business  remained  to  be  disposed  of. 

Mr.  Wm.  C.  Woodbridge  asked  leave  to  pro- 
pose the  following  resolution: — 

Resolved,  that  a  committee  of  three  members  be 
appointed  to  consider  and  report,  at  their  discre- 
tion, on  the  thirteenth  topic  proposed  to  the  Con- 
vention, "the  propriety  of  studying  the  Bible  as  a 
classic  in  the  institutions  of  a  christian  country." 

On  motion  duly  made  and  seconded,  the  resolu- 
tion, as  read,  was  adopted. 


217 

The  following  committee  was  appointed  on  the 
foregoing  resolution: 

Mr.  William  C.  Woodbridge, 
Professor  Robinson, 
Mr.  Tho.  H.  Gallaudet. 

The  following  resolution  was  proposed  by  Mr. 
Sparks,  and  adopted. 

Resolved,  that  a  committee  of  three  members 
be  appointed  to  procure  information  on  the  plan 
of  teaching  by  public  lectures  in  the  European 
institutions,  particularly  at  Paris,  and  also  to 
consider  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  a  ge- 
neral use  of  popular  lectures  in  this  country,  and 
to  report  on  the  same  at  the  next  meeting  of  this 
Convention. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee under  the  foregoing  resolution: 

Dr.  Wainwright, 
Dr.  Lieber, 
Professor  Keating. 

28 


218 

Dr.  Wainwright  then  rose,  and  in  the  name  and 
on  behalf  of  the  committee  of  invitation,  express- 
ed the  satisfaction  they  felt  in  the  proceedings  of 
the  Convention,  and  in  the  increasing  interest 
manifested  by  members  in  the  discussions  up  to 
that  moment — with  such  feelings  he  felt  happy  in 
proposing  the  following  resolutions: — 

Resolved,  that  the  members  of  this  Convention 
have  derived  much  satisfaction  and  received  mu- 
tual benefit  and  instruction  from  the  opportunity 
which  has  now  been  afforded  of  friendly  inter- 
course and  free  interchange  of  opinions  upon  the 
important  subjects  of  Science,  Literature  and 
Education. 

Resolved,  under  a  lively  sense  of  these  advan- 
tages, that  it  is  highly  expedient  to  hold  an 
annual  meeting  of  a  similar  character,  and  that 
results  favorable  to  the  cause  of  sound  learning, 
and  propitious  to  the  interests  of  our  seminaries 
of  learning,  may  be  anticipated  from  it. 

Resolved,  that  when  this  Convention  adjourns, 
it  shall  adjourn  to  meet  in  the  city  of  New  York, 


219 

on  the  day  and  in  the  place  to  be  designated  by 
a  committee  of  invitation. 

Resolved,  that  all  Presidents  or  Heads  of  Uni- 
versities and  Colleges,  be  invited  to  a  seat  in  this 
Convention,  or  in  case  of  their  being  unable  to 
attend,  to  designate  for  this  purpose  some  one 
connected  with  their  respective  seminaries. 

The  resolutions,  as  offered  by  Dr.  Wainwright, 
were  severally  carried  in  the  affirmative. 

On  motion,  duly  seconded,  it  was 

Resolved,  that  a  committee  of  invitation  and 
arrangements  be  appointed,  whose  duty  it  shall  be 
to  invite  persons  interested  in  the  cause  of  science, 
literature  and  education,  to  attend  the  meeting 
of  the  next  annual  Convention,  and  also  to  solicit 
and  receive  written  communications,  and  to  give 
seasonable  notice  to  the  persons  invited  of  the 
topics  of  discussion  which  will  be  brought  before 
the  Convention,  and  that  this  committee  have 
power  to  fill  vacancies  in  their  own  body. 

The    following    gentlemen    were    appointed    a 


220 

committee  of  invitation,  with  power,  under  the 
foregoing  resolution: 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  M.  Mathews, 
Rev.  Dr.  J.  M.  Wainwright, 
Hon.  Albert  Gallatin, 
John  Delafield  Esq. 

It  was  then,  on  motion, 

Resolved,  that  the  thanks  of  this  Convention 
be  tendered  to  the  Honorable  the  Corporation  of 
this  city  for  the  use  of  the  Common  Council 
Chamber,  generously  granted  to  the  Convention 
during  its  present  session. 

Resolved,  that  the  thanks  of  this  Convention 
be  given  to  the  President  and  Vice  Presidents  of 
this  Convention,  for  the  ability  and  faithfulness 
with  which  they  have  presided  over  its  delibera- 
tions. 

Resolved,  that  the  members  of  this  Convention 
acknowledge  with  deep  gratitude  and  respect  the 
liberality  and  courtesy  manifested  to  them  by  the 
gentlemen  composing  the  committee  of  invitation 
and  arrangements. 


221 

Resolved,  that  the  thanks  of  this  Convention 
be  presented  to  the  Secretary  and  to  the  Assistant 
Secretary,  for  the  services  performed  by  them. 

Dr.  Wainwright  then  rose,  and  in  behalf  of 
the  committee  of  arrangements,  observed  that  the 
time  had  arrived  at  which  it  was  proposed  to  sus- 
pend the  proceedings  of  the  Convention.  He  be- 
lieved that  all  present  would  agree  with  him,  that 
so  far  from  finding  the  interest  in  the  discussions 
which  had  been  carried  on  to  abate,  it  had  on  the 
contrary  increased  from  day  to  day;  and  at  no 
moment  would  they  feel  so  unwilling  to  separate 
as  at  the  present.  Many  of  the  members  of  the 
Convention  were,  however,  from  a  distance,  and  all 
had  their  particular  or  professional  duties,  which 
could  not  with  convenience  be  any  longer  post- 
poned, even  for  the  sake  of  the  pleasure  or  improve- 
ment which  they  were  then  receiving.  It  had  been 
asked  by  some,  without  these  walls,  "cui  bono" 
for  what  object  has  this  Convention  been  called? 
what  points  has  it  settled,  or  will  it  have  a  ten- 
dency to  establish?  It  is  replied,  that  we  did  not 
assemble  here  for  the  purpose  of  legislation  in  the 
literary  republic,  or  in  any  of  those  separate  com- 
munities of  which  it  is  composed.     We  are  not 


222 

here  to  make  laws  for  any  college  or  University, 
nor  to  establish  the  principles  upon  which  they 
are  to  be  conducted.  This  would  be  an  arrogant 
assumption  on  our  part.  We  are  here  to  prepare 
for  legislation,  to  compare  views,  to  acquire  know- 
ledge from  the  experience  of  others,  and  thus  car- 
ry to  our  respective  spheres  of  active  duty  some 
portion  of  useful  information.  Previous  opinions  in 
regard  to  the  great  interests  of  science  and  letters 
may  have  been  confirmed,  or  modified,  or  in  some 
instances  perhaps  changed;  and  consequently  we 
may  look  to  this  and  future  meetings  of  a  similar 
character,  to  produce  a  wider  dissemination  of 
knowledge,  and  a  more  thorough  and  uniform 
mode  of  communicating  it.  To  compare  thoughts 
with  those  engaged  in  similar  pursuits,  is  always 
a  grateful  employment  to  an  intelligent  and  inqui- 
ring mind,  and  there  are  very  few  so  far  in  ad- 
vance of  their  fellows,  as  not  to  derive  essential 
advantage  from  it. — But  he  would  not  longer  oc- 
cupy the  time  of  the  Convention,  by  extending 
this  obvious  train  of  reflection.  He  believed  that 
there  could  be  no  necessity  for  defending  the  rea- 
sons for  which  the  Convention  was  called,  or  the 
manner  in  which  its  discussions  had  been  conduct- 
ed, to  those  who  were  present.      For  himself,  he 


223 

had  derived  from  his  attendance  on  this  Conven- 
tion very  great  satisfaction,  and  he  trusted  no 
small  degree  of  information,  and  he  looked  for- 
ward to  its  annual  return  with  clear  anticipations 
of  its  increasing  advantages.  Believing  that  these 
sentiments  were  very  generally  felt,  he  would  beg 
leave  to  propose  to  the  Convention  the  following 
resolutions: — 

Resolved,  that  the  proceedings  of  this  Conven- 
tion be  concluded  with  prayer, — which  was  unani- 
mously adopted. 

It  was  then  moved  and  seconded,  that  this  Con- 
vention do  adjourn  after  prayer;  which  was 
carried. 

President  Mason,  of  Geneva  College,  was  invi- 
ted to  close  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention  with 
prayer. 

The  Convention  joined  in  prayer,  and  then 
adjourned  sine  die. 

J.  Delafield,  Secretary. 


APPEND I X  . 


APPENDIX  No.  I. 


BRIEF  OUTLINE  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  SPAIN, 
BY  JOSE  A  PIZARRO,  PROFESSOR  OF  SPANISH  LITERA- 
TURE in  st.  mary's  college,  Baltimore. 

The  commencement  of  the  era  of  learning  in  Spain  I 
may  date  back  to  the  time  of  Julius  Csesar.  The  distin- 
guished authors  who  flourished  in  that  country  between  the 
4th  and  13th  centuries  have  been  numbered  at  210,  and  de- 
scribed as  "sublime  in  letters  and  virtue."  During  that  pe- 
riod the  Ildefonsos,  Isidores,  &c.  figured  as  the  successors  of 
several  Spanish  scholars  of  the  Roman  period.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  literature  of  Spain  is  much  indebted  to  the 
Jews,  fifty  thousand  of  whom  were  transported  to  the  king- 
dom under  the  Emperor  Hadrian,  and  multitudes  entered 
in  the  Gothic  ages,  where  their  descendants  remained 
until  their  expulsion,  towards  the  close  of  the  15th  century. 
A  list  of  the  authors  of  Hebrew  origin  shows  no  less  than 
561  in  the  classics,  20  on  astrology,  67  Commentators  or 
Expositors,  84  on  Philosophy,  52  in  grammar,  36  on  Medi- 
cine, 18  Historians,  52  Jurists,  18  mathematicians,  57  Poets, 
8  on  Rhetoric,  68  on  Talmud,  19  Theologians  and  73  Trans- 


228 


lators.  The  Goths  suspended  the  progress  of  literature  only 
for  a  short  time;  as  numbers  of  that  race  soon  became  con- 
verted to  Christianity,  and  became  able  writers  in  its  defence. 
The  Arian  and  other  sects  produced  much  discussion,  and 
different  Councils,  by  which  the  talents  of  many  learned 
men  were  displayed.  Schools  for  Latin  and  Greek  were  ear- 
ly established  in  Spain,  and  flourished  down  to  the  period  of 
the  Moorish  conquest,  when  of  course  they  were  overthrown. 
The  Latin  language,  however,  as  historians  state,  continued 
to  be  the  vulgar  tongue  of  the  country  to  the  time  of  Alphon- 
so  the  Wise,  when  the  foundation  for  Romance  was  laid. 
There  was  the  Castillian  first  cultivated;  and  the  first  gram- 
mar of  it  was  published  by  Antonio  de  Nebrija,  in  1614. 
Such  is  the  influence  of  the  happy  climate  of  Spain  upon 
literature,  that  the  Goths  and  the  Moors  were  in  their  turn 
refined  by  those  whom  they  conquered,  and  as  the  latter  held 
the  Jews  in  much  respect,  they  no  doubt  derived  great  bene- 
fit from  them.  Among  the  Arabian  authors  of  Spain 
are  found  many  of  great  merit  in  Literature,  Philosophy, 
Agriculture,  Medicine  and  Botany;  to  which  three  last 
branches  their  races  were  particularly  devoted.  Nearly  eight 
centuries  of  war,  however,  had  almost  proved  fatal  to  Spanish 
literature;  and  when  it  was  to  be  restored  immense  pains 
were  necessary  to  gather  the  scattered  relics,  and  years 
were  passed  in  learning  a  part  of  what  had  been  forgotten. 
Many  works  were  found,  mutilated,  scattered  and  deposited 
in  libraries  and  monasteries,  where  a  solitary  situation,  or  the 
poverty  of  the  inmates  had  offered  no  temptation  to  the  inva- 
ders to  seek  for  wealth.    It  was  towards  the  close  of  the  12th 


229 


century  that  this  revival  of  literature  began;  and  by  the 
remnants  of  Greek  and  Latin  schools  new  professors  were 
formed,  and  instruction  gradually  became  general.  The 
poem  of  "El  Cid"  and  various  works  of  Knight  Errantry 
were  the  first  to  appear,  and  tended  to  soften  and  ennoble  the 
Moorish  wars,  as  well  as  contribute  to  their  successful  ter- 
mination. 

The  first  Universities  were  established  under  an  admirable 
system.  That  of  Salamanca  was  regarded  for  two  centuries 
as  a  centre  of  light,  in  literature  sacred  and  profane,  and 
claimed  pre-eminence  till  the  17th  century,  when  the  de- 
clension took  place.  During  the  reign  of  Philip  4th,  our  lite- 
rature made  its  last  exertion;  and  it  decayed  under  the  fol- 
lowing monarch,  the  miserable  Charles.  It  was  succeeded 
by  mere  pedantry  in  the  time  of  the  Grand  Duke  of  Anjou, 
Philip  5th.  Literature  emigrated  successively  to  France  and 
England,  with  wealth  and  industry,  in  the  17th  and  18th 
centuries,  and  there  in  a  few  years  rose  to  an  elevation  which 
it  had  hardly  been  able  to  attain  in  Spain  in  four  centuries : 
for  they  found  the  way  all  open  and  unencumbered,  which 
she  had  to  rid  of  numerous  obstacles,  and  thus  passed,  with 
little  expense  of  time  or  labor,  through  the  periods  of  her 
birth,  infancy,  childhood,  youth  and  maturity. 

Under  the  reign  of  Philip  5th,  whose  great  grandfather's 
policy  regenerated  Spain,  the  universities  and  colleges  comple- 
ted their  ruin,  and  saw  their  pupils  converted  into  mere  par- 
rots; fit  subjects  for  the  caustic  satire  of  De  Isla  and  Cadal- 


230 


so.  Not  a  few  of  the  vicious  features  of  the  decayed  Span- 
ish literature  at  the  present  day  exhibit  their  traces,  having 
affected  the  political  and  moral  frame  of  the  nation,  and  the 
mind  of  almost  every  individual.  The  pacific  reign  of  Fer- 
dinand 6th,  which  followed,  was  devoted  to  amassing  wealth, 
the  extension  of  religious  policy,  and  the  depression  of  edu- 
cation, placing  the  seal  of  ignorance  on  two  thirds  of  the  na- 
tion .  Thus  was  prosecuted  that  system  begun  by  the  preced- 
ing monarch,  designed  to  hold  in  subjection  the  whole  people, 
and  to  control  their  movements  like  automata.  The  studies 
of  the  middling  classes  were  corrupted,  at  the  time  when 
Charles,  towards  the  close  of  the  last  century,  began  to  think 
he  might  derive  something  from  the  Spanish  nation  by  in- 
structing it,  and  determined  to  extend  protection  to  education 
and  other  means  of  public  improvement.  He  sought  and 
obtained  men  of  genius  who  had  resisted  the  general  decay 
of  learning. 

Monino,  afterwards  Count  Floridablanca,  first  attacked 
and  exposed  the  undue  preponderance  of  the  clergy,  their 
usurpations,  and  the  dark  and  subtle  policy  of  the  preceding 
monarchs.  But  he  had  to  contend  against  the  popular  pre- 
judices, as  well  as  the  ignorance  of  the  lower  classes,  and 
the  influence  of  the  clergy  among  them,  exerted  by  the 
wealth  of  the  kingdom,  which  was  to  a  great  extent  in  their 
hands.  Charles  3d,  and  his  ministers,  found  in  the  end  that 
they  had  not  power  enough  to  remove  these  obstacles.  He 
resolved,  however,  to  extend  knowledge  as  much  as  possible 
through  the  kingdom,  depending  on  its  aid,  principally,  for 


231 


the  accomplishment  of  his  liberal  views.  He  offered  great 
encouragement  to  literary  men,  paid  them  generously  for 
their  services,  and  in  a  few  years  an  evident  change  was 
perceptible  in  the  system  of  education,  and  many  persons  of 
genius  began  to  appear.  Jovellanos,  Cadalso,  Valdez,  Quin- 
tana,  and  their  distinguished  cotemporaries,  founded  a  new 
school  of  learning;  the  Universities  were  reformed,  and  the 
Greek  and  Latin  classics  made  a  progress  which  promised  to 
give  them  their  due  eminence.  Primary  schools  were  also 
multiplied,  but  the  death  of  the  king  checked  the  great  plans 
he  had  formed  when  they  were  but  partly  accomplished. 

The  state  of  learning,  at  the  time  when  this  monarch 
came  to  the  crown,  is  most  powerfully  described  by  Jovella- 
nos, who  states  that  the  sciences  were  not  then  regarded  as 
the  means  of  finding  truth,  but  of  finding  a  livelihood;  and 
that  the  number  of  students  was  multiplied  with  that  of  the 
vices  of  study.  Scholars  were  like  certain  insects  which 
increase  the  pile  of  dust  in  which  they  breed.  Spain  was 
not  alone  condemned  to  occupy  that  low  rank  in  literature  at 
this  period,  but  different  writers  inform  us  that  in  other 
countries  a  corresponding  abasement  prevailed.  In  England 
and  France  it  was  a  matter  of  complaint  that  the  great  object 
aimed  at  by  instructers  was,  to  teach  a  little  of  every  thing; 
and  this  resulted  in  the  neglect  of  profound  knowledge  in 
every  branch.  This  plan  is  directly  opposed  to  that  of  the 
Greeks,  as  well  as  of  the  Jesuits,  who  produced  good  scholars 
in  different  sciences. 


232 


In  the  reign  of  Charles  4th,  which  followed,  no  progress 
was  made  in  the  system  of  studies,  but  at  the  same  time  no 
great  decline  is  to  be  noticed.  The  men  most  instrumental 
in  its  establishment,  and  its  greatest  ornaments,  still  survived, 
as  well  as  its  numerous  subjects.  From  it  proceeded  many 
distinguished  scholars  who  dignified  our  Cortes,  both  ordinary 
and  extraordinary,  among  whom  might  be  mentioned  others 
beside  the  Torrenos,  Marinas,  Megias,  Antillones,  Arguelles, 
Canga,  Caratavas,  and  Martinez-de-la-Rosa.  Inl813,  Ruiz 
Padron,  delivered  a  speech  before  the  Cortes,  against  the 
Inquisition,  which  excited  admiration  and  applause. 

Under  Charles  4th,  unfortunately,  primary  education  was 
greatly  neglected;  so  that  at  the  time  of  the  French  inva- 
sion, in  1808,  it  could  not  be  said  to  exist  in  Spain.  The 
Cortes,  duly  and  deeply  impressed  with  its  vital  importance 
to  the  kingdom,  and  convinced,  indeed,  that  without  its  co- 
operation their  best  exertions  must  prove  vain,  introduced 
the  ninth  chapter  into  their  constitution.  This  chapter  con- 
tains the  366th,  67th,  68th,  69th,  and  70th  articles,  and  estab- 
lishes a  complete  system  of  education,  as  will  be  seen  from  a 
perusal  of  them  as  follows. 

Article  366th.  In  every  town  in  the  monarchy,  schools 
of  primary  education  shall  be  established,  in  which  children 
shall  be  taught  to  read,  write  and  cast  accounts,  and  the 
catechism  of  the  Catholic  religion,  which  also  comprehends 
a  brief  exposition  of  civil  obligations. 


233 


A  rticle  367th .  The  competent  number  of  Universities  and 
other  establishments  shall  be  created  and  regulated,  as  may 
be  thought  convenient  for  instruction  in  all  the  sciences, 
literature  and  the  fine  arts. 

Article  368th.  The  general  plan  of  instruction  shall  be 
uniform  throughout  the  kingdom,  and  the  political  constitu- 
tion of  the  monarchy  shall  be  explained  in  all  the  Universities 
and  institutions  for  learning  where  the  ecclesiastical  and 
political  sciences  are  taught. 

Article  369th .  There  shall  be  a  general  direction  of  studies , 
composed  of  persons  of  acknowledged  intelligence,  in  whose 
charge  shall  be  confided  the  inspection  of  public  instruction, 
under  the  authority  of  the  government. 

Article  370th.  The  Cortes,  by  means  of  special  plans  and 
ordinances,  shall  regulate  all  that  pertains  to  the  important 
object  of  public  instruction. 

Article  371st.  All  Spaniards  have  the  liberty  of  wri- 
ting, printing  and  publishing  their  political  opinions  without 
the  necessity  of  any  license,  revision  or  approbation,  before 
the  publication,  under  the  restrictions  and  responsibilities 
established  by  the  laws. 

On  account  of  the  restoration  of  the  king,  and  the  abolish- 
ment of  the  constitution  which  immediately  succeeded  it,  this 

plan  did  not  then  go  into  operation.    In  1820,  however, 

30 


234 


when  the  constitution  was  restored,  the  ninth  chapter  took 
immediate  effect.  The  general  direction  of  studies  was  form- 
ed, and  Don  Manuel  Jose  Quintana  was  made  its  President. 
The  first  step  taken  by  that  body  was  to  obtain  exact  ac- 
counts of  the  state  of  public  instruction,  in  all  its  branches, 
throughout  the  Peninsula  and  in  the  adjacent  islands.  From 
accurate  investigations  made,  it  proved  that  in  two  thirds  of 
the  nation  primary  schools  were  entirely  wanting.  Many 
which  did  exist  were  inadequately  provided  with  funds,  and 
many  more  were  taught  by  persons  incapable  of  the  task. 
The  government  afforded  to  the  direction  all  the  facilities  and 
pecuniary  supplies  necessary  to  raise  their  system  to  perfec- 
tion; and  at  the  close  of  twenty  months,  such  activity  and 
intelligence  had  been  exerted,  that  three  quarters  of  the  peo- 
ple were  supplied  with  the  necessary  primary  schools  for  the 
instruction  of  their  children,  good  and  commodious  buildings, 
and  capable  teachers.  None  were  allowed  to  occupy  the 
place  of  instructers  until  they  had  been  scrupulously  examined 
by  the  Direction,  nor  until  satisfactory  accounts  had  been  ob- 
tained of  their  moral,  political,  public  and  private  characters, 
as  well  as  of  their  natural  dispositions,  according  to  the  rules 
established  for  the  purpose:  the  government  believing  that 
the  fate  of  the  country  must  depend  on  the  youth. 

The  pay  of  teachers  was  proportioned  to  the  expenses  of 
living  in  the  different  provinces,  and  secured  in  every  case  a 
decent  subsistence.  The  children  of  the  poor  were  admitted 
freely  and  gratuitously;  indeed  the  parents  were  compelled 
by  the  municipality  to  send  their  children  to  school,  when  un- 


235 

willing,  under  proper  penalties,  without  admitting  any  ordi- 
nary excuse. 

The  course  of  primary  instruction  embraced  the  grammar 
and  orthography  of  the  Castillian  language,  as  well  as  read- 
ing and  writing,  the  elements  of  geography,  sacred  and  pro- 
fane history,  the  religious  and  political  catechism,  with  a 
short  and  easy  course  of  Ideology,  to  teach  the  pupils  to  think 
while  they  remembered — according  to  the  principles  of  the 
wisest  Greeks  and  Romans. 

Public  academies  had  existed  since  the  time  of  Charles 
3d,  in  the  provincial  capitals  and  the  other  large  cities.  In 
those  institutions  gratuitous  instruction  was  given  in  the  even- 
ing by  the  Alumni,  in  drawing,  civil  engineering  and  other 
branches.  Any  person  was  allowed  to  keep  a  private  school 
or  academy,  on  condition  of  submitting  himself  to  the  General 
Direction  of  studies,  after  undergoing  an  examination. 

The  Universities  were  re-organized,  and  in  all  of  them 
were  founded  Greek,  Latin  and  Hebrew  professorships.  In 
Latin  there  were  two  or  three  professors,  according  to  the  size 
of  the  Universities,  which  were  divided  into  the  1st  and  2d 
classes;  and  so  of  the  other  branches:  Geography,  Ancient 
and  Modern  History,  Sacred  and  Profane,  General  Grammar, 
Logic,  Rhetoric,  Elocution  and  Eloquence,  Moral  and  Natural 
Philosophy,  Political  Economy,  Physics,  Chemistry,  Botany, 
Mineralogy,  all  branches  of  Mathematics,  Commerce,  Navi- 
gation, &c;  Public  Law  and  the  Law  of  Nations,  Moral  and 


236 


Dogmatic  Theology,  the  Canons,  Ecclesiastical  Law,  &c. 
The  number  of  Universities  of  the  1st  and  2d  order,  was 
arranged  under  one  system  by  the  General  Direction  of 
studies,  according  to  the  population  of  the  provinces. 

A  Central  University  was  established  in  Madrid,  which 
embraced  all  the  branches  of  public  instruction;  and  a  Nor- 
mal or  Polytechnic  school  was  formed,  which  would  have 
been  in  time  a  noble  nursery  of  eminent  professors  in  all  the 
branches.  Excellent  professors  were  found  in  the  kingdom, 
and  foreigners  were  admitted  with  great  respect  to  teach  cer- 
tain kinds  of  knowledge  not  in  use  before.  All  the  political 
authorities  of  the  nation  were  expressly  required  to  aid  and 
protect  the  General  Direction  as  might  be  necessary  for  the 
performance  of  its  duties;  and  the  supreme  government  were 
bound  to  furnish  all  freedom  and  privileges  consistent  with 
the  constitution.  The  youth  of  the  country,  by  an  excited 
enthusiasm  for  learning,  crowded  to  the  Universities,  where 
they  were  able  to  obtain  all  the  instruction  they  desired  in 
every  branch,  without  expense,  and  regulate  their  plan  of 
study  in  relation  to  their  future  intentions.  The  only 
money  paid  was  a  small  sum  for  a  degree,  and  a  few  neces- 
sary expenses,  which  altogether  amounted  to  very  little. 

The  Colleges  of  Medicine,  Surgery,  Pharmacy,  and 
Botany,  hardly  needed  reformation,  for  their  interior  regula- 
tions were  on  an  excellent  footing;  but  yet  they  were  all 
made  subject  to  the  new  system  and  the  General  Direction  of 
studies,  under  the  immediate  inspection  of  the  illustrious 


237 


Don  Juan-de-Arigula,  the  first  genius  of  the  present  day  in 
Spain  in  those  branches  of  science. 

The  Conciliar  Seminaries,  subject  to  the  Bishops,  were 
allowed  to  continue  so,  but  were  regulated  according  to  the 
plan  of  the  General  Direction. 

Such,  in  a  brief  and  general  view,  was  the  system  of 
instruction  established  and  put  in  active  operation  under  the 
constitution  of  Spain,  and  entirely  overthrown  together  with 
that  constitution,  by  the  French  troops,  under  the  command 
of  the  Duke  of  Angouleme,  in  1823.  This  noble  system 
the  Spaniards  had  the  honor  of  forming,  while  to  others 
belongs  the  responsibility  of  its  overthrow. 

In  conclusion,  Spain  is  not  now  on  a  level  with  other  na- 
tions in  knowledge  and  refinement,  and  still  less  in  power, 
wealth  and  glory.  This  is  true;  and  as  a  sincere  and  ingen- 
uous Spaniard,  I  freely  confess  it,  although  with  deep  sorrow 
in  my  soul.  Among  my  countrymen  there  is  much  igno- 
rance and  fanaticism,  and  erroneous  ideas  prevail  on  the 
principles  from  which  the  dignity  of  man  is  derived.  We 
have  a  numerous  clergy,  rich,  powerful,  and  swaying  great 
political  and  moral  influence,  for  the  views  of  the  govern- 
ment have  permitted  them  to  obtain  all  objects  attractive 
to  clerical  ambition;  and  they  are  consequently  fanatical 
and  inflammatory.  They  prevent  or  obstruct  the  enlighten- 
ing of  two  thirds  of  the  nation,  on  which  they  exert  a 
direct  influence,  and  continually  threaten  the  remainder, 


238 


which  alone  receives  education  or  instruction.  This  portion 
cannot  overbalance  the  majority  by  its  own  moral  weight,  for 
it  is  not  allowed  to  have  any  communication,  nor  to  exhibit 
the  illumination  it  has  acquired,  but  is  compelled  to  keep  it 
concealed.  The  clergy,  at  the  same  time,  do  not  extend  the 
necessary  cultivation  amongst  those  of  their  own  orders, 
because  they  can  have  no  reasonable  hope  of  finding  a  good 
use  made  of  it,  and  it  may  perhaps  be  apprehended  that  it 
would  prove  prejudicial  to  themselves. 


APPENDIX  No.  II. 


THOUGHTS    ON     A     UNIVERSITY    TO     BE     ADAPTED     TO    THE 
WANTS  OF  THE  POORER  CLASSES. 

The  following  remarks  are  written  in  haste;  but  the 
observations  on  which  they  are  founded  having  been  made  at 
leisure,  and  among  the  class  of  society  to  which  they  relate, 
may  claim  some  attention. 

In  the  city  of  New  York,  there  has  been,  for  some  years,  in 
operation  a  system  of  common  school  and  Sunday  school 
education,  which  is  deservedly  ranked  among  the  most  noble 
and  useful  features  presented  to  an  observer  of  our  society. 
By  them  many  thousands  of  children,  whose  parents  are  too 
poor  to  pay  for  their  instruction,  are  every  year  taught 
useful  learning  and  religion,  under  advantages  superior  to 
those  which  are  afforded  even  to  the  children  of  the 
most  wealthy  in  many  parts  of  the  country.  Recently 
this  system  has  been  most  powerfully  reinforced  by  the 
introduction  of  numerous  infant  schools;  and  the  writer 
would  wish  those  to  whom  this  communication  is  addressed, 
to  be  persuaded,  that  the  effects  already  produced  are  of 


240 


extensive  and  inestimable  importance.  A  little  examination 
into  the  influence  which  these  institutions  exert  among  the 
poor  families  inhabiting  the  garrets  and  cellars  of  this  city, 
would  impress  the  fact  deeply  on  any  mind;  and  a  few  sim- 
ple remarks  which  it  is  necessary  now  to  withhold,  might  pro- 
duce strong  feelings  in  such  as  may  not  have  had  opportunity 
to  visit  those  whose  homes  are  there.  Children  of  natural 
capacity  equal  to  any  born  to  splendor  and  abundance,  are 
thence  taken  to  the  places  where  mental  and  moral  discipline 
and  food  are  administered,  such  as  the  richest  have  seldom 
received;  and  society  has  already  begun  to  enjoy  the  benefits 
of  it — benefits,  of  which  society  will  never  see  the  end. 

But  the  systems  in  such  happy  operation  for  the  instruction 
of  the  poor,  evidently  demand  extension.  Children  are  now 
taken  by  the  hand  at  two  years  of  age,  and  even  earlier,  and 
led  in  the  attractive  paths  of  useful  knowledge.  Every  faci- 
lity is  afforded,  and  great  progress  is  often  made,  up  to  the  age 
when  they  have  passed  through  the  common  and  Sabbath 
schools;  and  then  they  are  abandoned.  Let  each  person  of 
intelligence  and  education  make  the  case  his  own,  and  much 
need  not  to  be  said.  The  boy  has  now  become  an  apprentice, 
or  perhaps  a  clerk,  he  has  no  longer  a  place  in  the  common 
school  house,  he  is  withdrawn  from  the  benignant  influence 
of  the  Sunday  school,  unless,  indeed,  as  is  not  unfrequently 
the  case,  he  takes  the  place  of  a  teacher.  He  has  hours  of 
leisure,  and  they  must  be  spent  in  the  narrow  and  ill  furnish- 
ed habitation  where  he  was  found  by  his  instructers.  There 
he  finds  nothing  to  occupy  his  thoughts,  to  furnish  aliment  to 


241 


his  mind,  so  long  training  to  seek  for  knowledge.  The  void 
is  partially  supplied  by  the  valuable  libraries  open  to  such  as 
himself;  but  while  experience  proves  that  these  are  highly 
beneficial,  it  also  shows  that  they  require  the  support  of  some 
co-operating  system.  To  most  youths,  books  in  themselves 
appear  dry  and  uninteresting,  compared  with  the  audible 
sounds  from  the  lips  of  a  speaker;  and  few  can  prefer  solitude 
to  society  in  hours  of  relaxation.  Besides,  few  in  the  lower 
classes,  nay,  we  might  say  none,  can  have  at  command  a 
proper  place,  and  suitable  companions,  for  reading.  The 
result  is,  that  many  of  those  who  are  educated  at  our  schools, 
finding  themselves  released  from  agreeable  and  wholesome 
restraints,  wander  about  to  find  employment  for  their  minds  in 
the  crowds,  soon  form  new  associates,  cast  off  their  old  habits, 
and  in  not  a  few  cases  are  less  useful,  it  may  be  presumed,  or 
more  injurious  to  society,  than  they  could  have  been  if  they 
had  been  less  instructed.  It  has  often  been  said  that  public 
amusements  are  necessary  in  large  cities.  Places  to  which 
the  public  may  resort,  undoubtedly  are  so;  and  whoever  shall 
establish  such  places,  and  there  make  the  young  assemble, 
at  periods  when  they  would  otherwise  have  gone  to  theatres, 
taverns,  gaming  houses,  and  in  general  to  assemblies  where 
the  time  is  wasted,  or  prostituted,  if  he  could  substitute  good 
company,  and  good  instruction,  would  produce  immensely 
beneficial  effects  to  the  public. 

Such  places  might  the  halls  of  the  University  become,  if 

proper  plans  should  be  adopted  to  accommodate  the  time 

and  subjects  of  the  lectures,  to  the  lower  as  well  as  the  mid- 
31 


242 


die  and  upper  classes,  and  if  they  whose  duty  it  is  to  encou- 
rrage  and  countenance  every  judicious  exertion  for  the  public 
benefit,  viz.  the  parents  and  guardians  and  friends  of  the 
young,  in  all  stations,  would  lend  their  aid.  The  University 
would  then  offer  its  hand  to  the  poor  and  helpless  youth, 
when  the  guides  of  his  childhood  were  withdrawing  their 
friendly  support.  It  is  the  task  of  those  who  are  to  have  the 
direction  of  the  new  Institution,  to  secure  him  the  intellectual 
sustenance  for  future  years,  without  which  his  mind  would 
languish,  to  enable  him  to  pursue  knowledge  still  further — 
for  with  that  class  it  is  eminently  the  case  more  than  with 
others,  that  possibility  is  encouragement.  They  are  to  open 
new  occupation  for  his  hopes,  by  removing  the  insurmount- 
able barrier  now  opposed  to  his  mind,  and  give  it  leave  to 
rise  to  the  contemplation  of  subjects,  to  cope  with  which  their 
creator  has  furnished  it  with  every  necessary  faculty. 

It  is  not  to  be  imagined  that  these  suggestions  are  made, 
under  any  forgetfulness  of  the  importance  of  the  similar  ad- 
vantages, required  by  the  youth  in  other  classes  of  society. 
There  would  not  be  time  to  enlarge  on  the  peculiar  benefits 
which  the  system  proposed  is  capable  of  conferring  on  each 
grade  and  branch  of  society.  Indeed,  if  the  present  were  an 
appropriate  occasion,  an  interesting  and  affecting  picture 
might  be  drawn,  by  an  able  hand,  of  the  modes  in  which 
the  proposed  system  may  be  made  to  open  channels  for  the 
conveyance  of  useful  knowledge  into  the  most  private  and 
retired  family,  the  most  obscure  and  humble  minds,  and  of 
the  various  steps  by  which  its  influence  might  mount  the  mar- 


243 


ble  stair-case,  and  astonish  many  a  mind  with  the  conviction 
of  its  deficiencies,  and  acquaint  it  with  its  own  powers  and 
tendencies.  A  discovery  of  this  nature  is  to  be  made  by  eve- 
ry mind  at  some  period  of  its  existence;  and  many,  in  all 
grades  of  society,  remain  long  ignorant  of  it.  We  are  apt  to 
judge  of  ourselves  and  our  capacities,  by  the  standard  we  find 
adopted  by  those  around  us ;  and  need  constantly  to  be  remind- 
ed by  visible  evidence,  that  important  acquisitions  remain  to 
be  made.  By  whatever  means  the  acquisitions  of  the  learned 
are  placed  strongly  before  the  view  of  our  youth,  it  may  be 
presumed  that  the  effects  will  be  considerable;  but  what 
would  more  tend  to  operate  on  our  society,  on  the  broad  scale 
with  greater  effect,  than  to  offer  to  the  aspiring  poor,  the  faci- 
lities they  want  to  obtain  useful  knowledge?  The  wealthy 
must  always  have  greater  means  of  mental  improvement 
within  their  reach  than  the  poor,  but  they  will  never  properly 
avail  themselves  of  them,  until  they  see  an  example  set; 
and  that  example,  if  coming  from  those  enjoying  the  fewest 
advantages,  would  be  most  powerful.  In  this  manner  the 
charge  of  a  disposition  to  lower  the  standard  of  education, 
sometimes  made  against  plans  like  that  now  proposed,  would 
be  practically  answered.  Instead  of  producing  this  effect,  it 
would  directly  tend  to  raise  the  standard,  by  pressing  on  the 
lower  class  to  compete  with  the  upper  in  knowledge. 

However  it  may  seem  to  us  that  the  plan  proposed 
is  liberal,  none  must,  on  the  one  hand,  fancy  that  it  is  a 
hazardous,  because  an  untried  experiment,  nor,  on  the 
other,  arrogate  to  this  country  the  honor  of  its  invention. 


244 


Several  countries  of  Europe  have  long  maintained  Univer- 
sities in  which  instruction  is  furnished  to  persons  of  different 
classes  for  small  sums,  and  even  gratuitously.  Such  has  been 
the  system  pursued  in  some  of  the  Universities  of  South 
America,  of  which  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  more  may  be  here- 
after known  among  us.  Those  institutions  have  done  great 
good  to  the  cause  of  learning;  but  their  operation  has  been 
greatly  limited  by  an  impediment  which  the  poor  could  sel- 
dom find  time  enough  to  remove.  The  instructions  are 
communicated  in  the  Latin  language;  and  so  many  years 
are  required  to  be  dovoted  to  the  study  of  that  language,  be- 
fore a  student  is  supposed  to  be  acquainted  with  it,  that  the 
waste  of  time  totally  precludes  the  greater  part  of  the  poor 
from  the  benefits  of  instruction.  Here  we  have  an  advantage 
of  the  utmost  consequence  to  those  youths  whose  hours  are 
valuable,  or  rather  every  thing:  those  whose  life  is  principally 
devoted  to  obtaining  the  means  of  subsistence;  but  whose 
leisure  moments  would  often  be  made  to  suffice  in  acquiring 
a  degree  of  knowledge  not  always  borne  off  with  a  collegiate 
degree.  The  idle  and  indifferent,  with  every  opportunity, 
every  day  to  mingle  with  books,  are  proof  against  the  contagion 
of  learning;  and  there  is  now,  no  doubt,  within  the  sight  of 
this  very  building,  many  a  less  favored  individual,  who  would 
gladly  and  incontestibly  prove  affirmatively  the  proposition, 
that  learning  is  obtained  by  voluntary  personal  application. 

Although  it  was  remarked  above,  that  the  design  of  the 
New  York  University  is  not  original  on  the  grand  scale, 
some  of  the  most  important  features  are  new;  or  rather 


245 


their  operation  will  be  among  circumstances  in  which  no 
such  institution  was  ever  established.  There  are  no  preju- 
dices in  this  country  existing  between  different  classes  of 
society,  like  those  which  are  found  in  most  other  countries. 
There  is  no  bar  between  different  ranks:  they  are  divided 
by  imperceptible  lines,  and  individuals  rise  and  sink  freely 
between  the  two  extremes,  by  personal  character,  and  per- 
sonal talent,  and  personal  industry,  with  comparatively  little 
of  the  influence  of  adventitious  circumstances.  To  the 
peculiar  structure  of  our  society,  our  system  of  education 
should  be  adapted;  and  every  intelligent  member  of  the 
community,  will  desire  to  see  it  adapted  to  the  necessities  of 
the  poor  as  well  as  of  the  rich,  because  he  cannot  be  insensi- 
ble to  the  truth,  that  his  own  character,  or  talent,  or  station, 
cannot  sustain  his  children,  or  raise  his  successors  from  any 
level  to  which  they  may  in  the  course  of  events  descend. 

The  public  good  also  imperiously  demands,  that  some  sys- 
tem be  adopted,  by  which  the  chief  source  and  strong  hold  of 
ignorance  and  vice,  should  be  continually  assailed.  For  this 
object  the  lowest  level  of  society  should  never  be  left  out  of 
view.  There  the  danger  of  the  whole  is  to  be  apprehended. 
There  first  are  laid  the  foundations  of  ignorance,  crime,  and 
disorder.  And  as  there  also  lies  a  large  portion  of  the  politi- 
cal power  of  the  country,  there  is  an  imperious  demand  on 
good  men  to  devise  means,  and  adopt  measures,  for  its  being 
purified  and  ennobled. 


APPENDIX  \o.  III. 


ON     THE     ORGANIZATION     OF     A     UNIVERSITY,     BY     DR.     J. 
LEO  WOLF. 

I  beg  leave  to  offer  a  few  remarks  with  regard  to  the  or- 
ganization of  a  University. 

The  principal  point  to  be  kept  in  view,  is,  in  my  opinion, 
the  distinct  line,  which  should  be  drawn  between  a  college 
and  a  University,  as  has  justly  been  observed  by  several 
gentlemen  of  the  Convention.  Both  may  exist  under  the 
same  head,  but  separately  from  each  other.  But  the  question 
is:  what  is  called  for?  is  it  a  university,  or  a  college?  and 
what  are  the  objects  of  each? 

A  college  has  to  privide  for  the  eruditio  of  young  men,  if 
I  may  style  it  so;  to  fit  them  for  the  common  vocations  of 
life.  Of  this  kind,  the  same  as  are  called  Gymnasia  in 
Germany,  we  have  a  sufficient  number,  and  among  them 
many,  which  may  rival  with  the  most  famous  of  Europe. 

A  University,  however,  is  to  satisfy  the  higher  demands  of 
science;    Universitas    literarum    is    its    object.   For    this 


248 


reason,  the  inscription  on  the  building  of  the  Berlin  Univer- 
sity says:  "  Universitati  Literarum."  The  students  who 
are  to  be  received  in  the  University,  must  be  expected  to 
have  passed  previously  through  a  regular  college  education. 

If  I  understand  the  object  rightly,  it  is  a  University,  and 
this  ought  to  be  kept  in  view.  Should  it  be  deemed  ex- 
pedient, to  establish  a  college  or  seminary,  to  be  connect- 
ed with  the  University,  it  could  be  done  without  injury  to 
the  latter,  nay,  advantageously,  provided  both  are,  as  they 
ought  to  be,  differently  organized.  I  may  be  permitted  to 
make  here  but  one  question,  f.  i.  as  to  the  lectures  on 
history;  would  not  the  college  course  of  this  science  have  to 
be  different  for  a  young  man  who  is  preparing  himself 
merely  for  private  life,  and  would  not  the  University  course 
have  to  be  another  and  more  extensive,  as  students  of  law, 
and  other  professions  would  resort  to  it? 

As  I  consider  the  University  the  main  object,  I  shall  dwell 
but  little  on  college  education. — The  classification  of  the 
scholars  of  a  college  is  a  difficult  subject,  if  it  is  desired  to 
engage  every  one  in  all  branches  of  learning  according  to  his 
capacity.  The  best  course  for  this  object  is,  in  my  opinion, 
pursued  in  the  Gymnasium  of  Hamburg,  where  I  attained  a 
part  of  my  college  education,  and  it  has  been  followed  by 
many  others;  the  scholar  is  ranked  for  every  branch  of  learn- 
ing in  that  class,  which  corresponds  to  the  degree  of  his 
knowledge;  f.  i.  he  may  be  placed  for  the  study  of  the  Latin 
language  in  the  first  class,  while  his  attainments  in  the  Greek 


249 

language,  being  inferior,  place  him  for  that  study  in  the  third 
class,  &c.  so  that  he  may  belong  to  four  different  classes  for 
four  different  sciences,  according  to  his  degree  of  information 
in  these  different  branches.  As  to  rewards  and  punishments, 
there  are  to  my  knowledge  none  in  the  German  Gymnasia, 
excepting  that,  at  the  semi-annual  public  examination,  each 
scholar  receives,  from  the  president  publicly  announced,  the 
applause  or  disapprobation  of  his  literary  attainments  and 
moral  conduct  during  the  past  course;  and  besides  this,  cor- 
responding certificates  are  furnished  to  their  parents  or  guar- 
dians. Of  other  punishments  I  know,  in  the  better  Gymna- 
sia of  Germany,  none,  excepting  imprisonment,  and  this 
suffices,  even  there,  in  countries,  where  men,  at  the  very  best, 
have  but  a  visionary  liberty,  and  are  moving,  even  when 
called  free,  if  I  may  say  so,  within  a  large  prison.  How 
much  more  influence  must  this  punishment  of  imprisoning 
have  on  the  youth  of  this  country,  where  even  the  child 
seems  to  feel  his  inborn  dignity  and  liberty,  and  manifests 
every  where  his  anxiety,  to  enjoy  his  just  privileges.  Where 
this  does  not  change  the  conduct  of  the  scholar,  he  is  expel- 
led from  the  college,  although  this  does  not  disenable  him  to 
be  received  in  another,  in  order  to  have  an  opportunity  to 
commence  a  reformed  course  of  life. 

The  idea  of  reward  and  punishment  is  however  totally 

inconsistent  with  the  character  of  a  student  of  a  University; 

the  former  (the  scholar)  is  a  boy,  the  student  is  a  man,  at 

least  ought  to  be  so ;  his  principles  ought  to  be  settled  when 

he  enters  the  University,  and  therefore  he  ought  to  be  able 

32 


250 


to  control  himself ;  the  very  height  of  science,  which  he  is  aim- 
ing at,  requires  it.  Rewards  may  perhaps  answer  the  age  of 
childhood,  and  prove  salutary  in  the  education  of  boys, 
although  even  there  it  is  a  question,  whether  they  do  not 
create  jealousy  and  animosity  in  the  young  mind,  more 
hurtful  than  the  benefit  derived  from  them.  But  the  idea 
of  reward  for  grown  men,  of  settled  principles,  as  I  wish  and 
hope  the  students  to  be,  is  at  the  very  best,  erroneous.  The 
reward  of  assiduity  in  the  pursuit  of  science  is  in  the  very 
result.  No  man  of  principle  will  be  guided  in  his  actions,  or 
stimulated  to  them  by  the  hope  of  reward.  Does  not  every 
citizen  fulfil  his  duties,  although  we  have  no  rewards  of 
orders,  ribbands,  titles,  &c.  as  in  Europe?  He  is  guided 
merely  by  the  love  for  this  country,  and  rewarded  by  the 
result  of  it,  her  prosperity.  Or  would  any  one  pretend  and 
say,  that  our  citizens  neglect  their  duties  for  want  of  stimu- 
lating reward?  Certainly  not;  on  the  contrary,  their  duties 
are  fulfilled  voluntarily  without  any  coercion,  without  any 
hope  of  reward,  and  even  to  a  greater  extent  than  in  any 
country  of  Europe. 

The  students  of  the  German  Universities  are  under  no 
literary  control.  They  may  pursue  their  studies  as  they 
please,  although  a  general  plan  is  recommended  to  them; 
they  may  attend  the  lectures  regularly  or  not;  they  are  under 
no  control  of  this  kind.  Only  in  cases,  where  they  attend 
to  no  lectures  at  all,  which  is  soon  observed,  they  receive  an 
admonition  from  the  Dean  of  the  Faculty,  to  which  they 
belong,  not  to  lose  sight  of  the  object  for  which  they 


251 


stay  in  the  University.  Nor  are  the  students  ever  examined 
by  their  Professors,  excepting  they  desire  them  to  do  so,  and 
engage  them  for  it  purposely. 

The  semi-annual  examinations,  as  recommended  by  some 
of  the  gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  lower  the  student  to  the 
rank  of  a  school  boy,  while,  being  a  man,  as  he  ought  to  be, 
they  are  useless,  for  he  will  know  that  it  is  for  his  own  good, 
to  be  assiduous  in  his  studies.  Moreover,  the  result  of  his  stu- 
dies is  proved  at  the  time,  when  he  desires  to  graduate  and 
to  be  licensed  for  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Then  he 
must  pass  a  strict,  rigid  and  public  examination ;  and  this  I 
should  warmly  recommend.  In  Prussia  these  examinations 
are  particularly  severe,  but  quite  impartial,  and  recorded.  To 
maintain  their  impartiality,  a  law  has  been  passed  of  late, 
that  no  candidate  for  degree  or  license  can  be  examined 
in  any  science  by  the  same  Professor,  whose  lecture  he  has 
attended,  but  another  one  of  the  same  branch  is  chosen. 

All  restrictions  upon  the  moral  and  literary  freedom  of  the 
students,  are  injurious  to  the  free  development  of  science. 
The  heroes  of  German  science  and  literature,  as  Kant, 
Kaestner,  Leibnitz,  Ernesti,  Haller,  Gronovius  and  others, 
were  all  educated  in  the  German  Universities,  when  they  en- 
joyed the  greatest  freedom.  The  despotism  of  the  German 
governments,  for  centuries  past,  suffered  and  sanctioned  this 
unbound  liberty  of  the  students,  while  all  other  classes  of  so- 
ciety were  chained,  for  they  were  sensible  of  its  importance  to 
themselves,  as  the  means  to  be  provided  with  able  men  to  fill 


252 


their  offices.  Experience  proves  this.  Austria  has  for  some 
time  past  confined  the  moral  and  intellectual  liberty  of  her 
students,  and  has  turned  her  Universities  almost  into  schools 
What  is  the  result?  her  seats  of  science  are  barren  of  all, 
which  has  recourse  to  speculative  branches  of  knowledge  and 
philosophy;  the  exact  sciences  only  continue  flourishing 
there. 

The  importance  of  this  liberty  is  justly  felt  by  many  of 
the  German  Professors.  I  was  studying  at  Gottingen  at  a 
time  when  an  extensive  rebellion  happened  among  the  stu- 
dents on  account  of  some  proceedings  of  their  court;  it  was 
soon  settled  by  the  government,  which  then  resolved  to 
change  the  character  of  the  University  and  to  organize  it  into 
schools,  on  the  plan  of  the  Austrian  Universities  and  the 
Parisian  Ecoles,  by  establishing  a  close  control  over  the  stu- 
dents, instituting  semi-annual  examinations,  &c.  As  soon  as 
the  professors  of  the  University  of  Gottingen  were  informed 
of  this  contemplated  plan,  they  made  a  remonstrance  against 
it  to  the  government,  declaring  that  they  would  sooner  resign 
their  chairs,  than  to  admit  such  a  change,  for  while  their  lec- 
tures were  intended  for  men,  they  would  not  wish  to  teach 
school-boys,  nor  were  their  lectures  calculated  for  the  latter. 

The  feeling  of  liberty  and  independence  in  youth,  is  a 
prominent  feature  and  an  admirable  characteristic  of  this 
country;  and  if  this  feeling  is  with  difficulty  controlled  in 
boys,  as  has  been  stated  by  several  gentlemen  of  the  Con- 
vention, and  has  been  intimated  to  me  by  some  of  my 


253 


friends;  how  much  more  difficult  will  this  be  in  young  men 
of  eighteen  or  twenty  years  of  age,  who  will  constitute,  I 
hope,  the  greater  number  of  our  students  in  the  New  Univer- 
sity. All  kinds  of  restrictions  in  this  age  have  a  tendency 
to  defeat  themselves.  Moreover  those,  who  enter  the  Univer- 
sity, must  be  expected  to  come,  from  love  of  science,  and  as 
love  for  any  subject  whatsoever  is  a  feeling,  which  rises 
voluntarily,  and  cannot  be  enforced,  so  neither  ought  love 
for  science  to  be  enforced,  nor  would  it  be  of  any  avail. 

I  am  persuaded,  that  the  flourishing  state  of  the  German 
Universities  has  its  origin  in  this  liberty.  If  you  think  the 
natives  of  that  country  to  be  partial  or  prepossessed  in  their 
statements,  ask  those  of  your  own  countrymen,  who  have 
been  there;  compare  what  they  have  seen  of  the  state  of 
science  in  Germany  to  that  of  other  countries,  and  see  the 
result.  Dupuytren,  of  Paris,  one  of  the  greatest  surgeons  of 
the  age,  has  sent  his  own  son  to  a  German  University,  Got- 
tingen,  and  admits  the  scientific  part  of  medicine  to  be  the 
most  profoundly  taught  and  the  most  flourishing  in  that 
country. 

Why  is  the  political  state  of  this  our  country,  the  most 
flourishing  on  the  globe?  but  because  we  enjoy  the  most 
unbound  liberty  of  the  press.  We  see  the  proof  of  liberty  in 
this;  why  not  allow  the  same  to  science  in  its  fullest  extent, 
and  admit  freedom  to  teach  or  to  be  taught  in  whatever  the 
human  mind  may  incline  to? 


254 


The  German  students  have  their  own  court  and  tribunal, 
formed  in  every  University  by  the  professors :  they  are  not 
under  the  control  of  the  police  or  state  laws,  excepting  in 
criminal  cases.  I  am  in  possession  of  the  laws  of  the  Uni- 
versities of  Marburg,  in  Hesse-Cassel,  of  Gottingen  and  of 
Berlin,  in  which  places  I  performed  my  studies,  from  which 
I  furnish  some  of  their  particulars.  But  here,  where  the 
students  would  necessarily  stand  under  the  common  law, 
many  of  those  laws  would  not  be  applicable. 

There  are,  besides,  two  other  great  causes  of  the  flourishing 
state  of  the  German  Universities,  and  of  sciences  there  in 
general. 

The  first  is,  that  those  who  desire  to  be  matriculated  as 
students  of  theology,  law,  or  medicine,  must  prove  their  ability 
for  the  pursuit  of  these  professions,  and  that  they  have 
attained  a  sufficient  classical  education.  This  is  ascertained 
either  by  testimonies,  if  they  are  issued  by  well  known  and 
good  colleges,  or  in  want  of  these,  by  an  examination,  pre- 
vious to  the  matriculation.  Only  the  pursuit  of  those 
sciences,  which  are  embraced  in  the  faculty  of  philosophy,  as 
history,  geography,  mathematics,  languages,  belles  lettres, 
philosophy,  natural  sciences,  &c.  should  be  permitted  to  all, 
without  further  difficulty. 

The  second  cause  of  the  flourishing  state  of  the  German 
Universities  consists  in  the  great  literary  rivalry  between  the 


255 


professors  of  a  University,  and  particularly  between  those  of 
the  same  line.  For  every  principal  branch  of  science  there 
are  in  every  good  University  at  least  two  lecturers,  in  order 
that  their  ambition  may  be  excited  by  a  noble  competition.  If 
there  be  but  one  professor  for  a  branch  of  science,  and  the 
students  be  compelled  by  necessity  to  attend  his  lectures, 
he  is  very  apt  to  become  careless  in  his  zeal.  I  know  of 
instances  of  this  kind  in  some  of  the  German  Universities, 
although  generally  there  are  several  lecturers  on  the  same 
subject .  Berlin  f .  i .  has  two  professors ,  lecturing  on  criminal 
law ;  four  on  state  laws ;  four  on  civil  law ;  three  on  anatomy ; 
six  on  materia  medica;  eight  on  therapeutics;  three  on  the 
theory  of  surgery;  two  on  operative  surgery,  &c.  These 
competitions  call  forth  all  the  talent  and  ability  of  every  pro- 
fessor, and  excite  an  emulation  and  literary  zeal,  unequalled, 
I  may  say,  in  any  other  country.  For  as  the  students  are  at 
liberty  to  attend  any  lecture  they  please,  every  professor 
endeavors  to  make  his  lecture  the  most  instructive. 

In  our  institutions,  where  the  professors  are  neither 
appointed  nor  paid  by  government,  but  are  obliged  to  rely 
chiefly  on  their  private  efforts  and  the  emoluments  received 
from  the  sale  of  their  tickets,  a  larger  number  of  teachers 
would  cause  no  additional  expense,  but  would  be  beneficial  as 
well  to  the  students  as  to  the  cause  of  science.  I  would 
therefore  suggest,  that  every  one  who  thinks  himself  compe- 
tent to  teach,  should  be  permitted  to  do  so,  and  should 
have  the  free  use  of  the  halls  of  the  University,  provided  he 
proves,  that  he  has  passed  through  a  regular  course  of  profes- 
sional education,  and  has  gone  through  a  strict  examination 


256 


for  the  degree  or  license  of  his  profession.  The  result  and 
success  of  his  professorship  should  entirely  depend  upon  him- 
self, and  in  order  to  create  a  noble  literary,  but  no  pecuniary 
competition,  a  certain  rate  of  charges  for  every  kind  of  lec- 
tures should  be  established,  from  which  no  one  should  be 
permitted  to  deviate. 

I  have  a  catalogue  of  the  lectures  of  the  Berlin  Univer- 
sity for  1823,  and  another  of  the  same  University  for  the 
last  winter  course  before  me,  which  contains  24  courses 
of  lectures  on  theology,  40  on  jurisprudence,  86  on  medicine 
aud  surgery,  29  on  natural  sciences,  15  on  philosophy,  13  on 
mathematics,  17  on  politics,  1 1  on  history  and  geography,  5 
on  the  fine  arts,  and  38  on  languages,  making  a  total  of  278 
courses  of  lectures,  all  of  them  to  be  delivered  during  one 
winter  course,  in  the  building  of  the  University.  This  ex- 
tent cannot  at  once  be  given  to  the  new  University,  nor  can 
it  be  expected,  but  we  ought  to  aim  at  it,  and  if  the  right 
course  be  pursued,  we  shall  attain  it.  As  the  soil  of  this,  our 
land,  is  bountifully  blessed  by  nature  before  many  others,  and 
wants  but  the  hand  to  cultivate  it;  so  is  the  mind  and  natural 
talent  of  its  people,  and  wants  but  a  spot  to  be  fostered  in. 
I  sincerely,  therefore,  wish  success  to  the  new  University,  and 
hope  to  see  it  soon  established. 

That  event,  when  it  takes  place,  we  may  justly  consider  as 
a  new  era  in  the  history  of  the  literature  of  our  country,  and 
the  day  will  come  ere  long,  when  this  land  will  be  the 
leading  star  of  the  globe,  as  well  by  its  literary,  as  now  by  its 
political  institutions. 


APPENDIX  No.  IV. 


ON  COLLEGE  DISCIPLINE,   BY  MR.   F.   HASLEK. 

The  discussion  upon  the  discipline  proper  in  colleges  and 
seminaries  of  learning,  had  lasted  so  long  that  I  thought  it 
best  not  to  detain  the  Convention  any  longer  by  expressing 
my  ideas  upon  it,  or  counteracting  the  ideas,  evidently  errone- 
ous, that  had  been  thrown  out,  by  rising  again  to  speak. 
Still  I  consider  it  in  some  measure  a  duty  to  lay  them  upon 
paper,  principally  with  the  view  to  be  handed  to  the  commit- 
tee, established  upon  that  question,  though  they  may  also  be 
read  to  the  Convention  if  found  useful ;  which,  however,  I  do 
not  positively  claim  or  propose. 

In  reasoning  upon  this  question  we  must  go  off  from 
certain  natural  and  psychological  principles.  Examples  are 
no  proper  guides,  because  they  are  local;  and  it  will  be  in 
any  case  whatsoever,  necessary  to  attend  to  the  localities  and 
individualities  in  adopting  laws  or  principles,  for  the  discipline 
of  any  projected  institution,  in  the  less  important  or  neces- 
sary parts  of  the  regulations,  without  however  interfering 

33 


258 


with  general  principles.    This  is  applying  the  principles 
properly. 

It  is  for  that  reason  that  the  discussion  carried  on  in  the 
general  form  could  never  give  a  result. 

Following  the  human  being  from  his  first  stage,  where 
from  the  mere  animal  existence,  he  is  to  be  taken  up,  to 
become  an  intellectual  being,  we  see  evidently  that  com- 
pulsory means  are  unavoidable;  but  the  very  aim  indicates 
that  these  means  must  be  intellectual,  and  not  corporal; 
they  must  be  grounded  simply  upon  the  superiority  of 
intellect  of  the  older  man  over  the  child.  Here  much  pe- 
dagogie  might  be  introduced,  but  it  lies  too  far  back,  behind 
the  aim  of  the  Convention. 

In  the  next  stage  we  come  to  the  boy,  (or  girl,)  that  be- 
gins already  to  reason,  and  because  reasoning  is  a  new  thing 
to  him,  has  a  great  deal  to  say  upon  every  thing,  particularly 
upon  his  teachers  and  to  his  teachers.  This  is  an  in- 
teresting period  of  the  life  of  man,  and  the  boy  who  meets 
in  his  teacher  an  able  man,  an  amiable  character,  and  a 
good  psychological  observer,  is  a  happy  being :  supposing  his 
intellect  adequate,  he  will  be  the  precocious  student,  the  suc- 
cessful scholar,  when  he  comes  to  apply  the  result  of  the  in- 
fluence of  his  psychological  leader  to  his  actual  progress  in 
learning  and  improvement,  as  well  moral,  as  intellectual. 

But  here  we  are  yet  in  the  pedagogie,  to  which  allusion 


259 


has  been  made  in  speaking  of  the  German  schools  for  the 
education  of  teachers,  and  I  wish  to  dismiss  even  this  part 
with  these  few  words;  too  much  has  been  written  upon  it  to 
add  any  thing. 

What  I  should  like  to  call  the  lad,  but  what  by  civil 
language  is  usually  called  the  young  gentleman,  forms  the 
third  class;  that  is,  the  first  which  I  think  was  under  consid- 
eration in  the  Convention,  as  it  is  he  whom  I  consider  as 
entering  the  college. 

The  most  of  the  Professors  of  the  colleges  of  this  country 
have  the  habit,  which  I  dare  well  call  bad,  to  call  them  boys, 
and  to  treat  them  as  such,  even  often  to  call  them  so  in  their 
allocution ;  what  other  result  can  be  expected,  but  that  they 
should  behave  as  such,  that  is  boyish,  and  still  their  actions 
are  taken  at  a  higher  rate,  and  their  boyish  misdemeanors 
as  crimes.  The  fault  in  fact  lies  not  in  them  so  much  as  in 
their  superiors.  Begin  every  opening  of  a  lecture  or  recita- 
tion by  the  civil  and  proper  address,  "gentlemen,"  and  no  stu- 
dent will  behave  boyish,  and  he  will  like  his  Professor  for  it, 
(this  is  my  own  experience.) 

The  complaints  against  radicalism,  independent  spi- 
rit, &c.  are  directly  against  the  Professor,  who,  either  by 
being  not  sufficiently  master  of  the  subject  he  teaches,  or  not 
having  moral  power  enough  to  lead  the  young  mind,  natu- 
rally independent,  is  subdued  by  his  scholar.  It  is  he  who 
wishes  to  call  to  his  aid  religious  restraint,  which  is  little 


260 


adapted  to  the  turn  of  mind  of  the  youth,  and  principally  of 
American  youth,  as  it  can  never  be  successful  in  forming  a  real 
intellectual  citizen  for  a  republic,  particularly  when  its  very 
social  contract  declares  him  absolutely  free  in  this  respect. 
The  examples  of  unfortunate  dissentions  from  that  score,  in 
American  colleges,  are  too  numerous,  but  also  too  disagreeable 
to  quote  here.  It  is  even  an  actual  harm  to  real  religion, 
that  the  colleges  have  introduced  what  is  called  religious  ex- 
ercises, which  can  never  fail  to  be  tinged  with  the  individual 
opinion  of  the  President  or  Professor,  that  are,  of  course, 
shared  by  the  scholar  who  is  not,  by  his  parents,  educated  in 
the  same  individual  creed. 

Though  often  at  an  earlier  stage,  still  generally  with 
the  college  education,  the  young  man  leaves  his  parental 
home;  but  while  guidance  would  have  been  proper  in  his 
teacher  in  the  previous  stage  of  his  education,  it  no  more  fits 
him  in  that  state  and  that  age.  A  new  feeling  rises  in 
him  at  that  period,  and  a  very  strong  one,  which  will  last 
during  his  life,  namely  that  of  friendship.  Of  this  the 
Professor,  the  future  conducter  of  the  young  man,  must  be 
able  to  take  hold,  or  all  his  efforts  are  useless.  The  dignified 
older  friend  of  the  young  man,  who  admits  him  to  easy  and 
close  access,  is  fully  master  of  him;  no  law,  no  restraint,  no 
regulation,  are  required  to  keep  him  in  bounds,  or  to  make 
him  obey  the  proper  directions  given  to  him ;  the  attachment 
formed,  which  increases  every  time  that  the  scholar  ap- 
proaches him,  supplies  all  possible  laws  and  regulations.  It 
must  not  be  objected  that  this  is  impossible  with  a  great  num- 


261 


ber  of  scholars;  it  is  not  the  fact,  for  decency  and  a  kind  of 
reverence  never  fail  to  keep  back  from  intrusion  the  more 
timid  ones,  whom  the  Professor  shall  call  forward,  and 
excite  to  confidence,  while  the  better  scholars,  that  become 
more  intimate  with  him,  will  in  a  great  measure  supply  his 
task  by  their  communication  to  others.  But  here  it  must  be 
observed,  that  the  Professor  must  not  be  a  man  working  for 
money  only,  for  then  he  will  be  considered,  as  has  been  said, 
as  a  hireling.  As  a  friend,  he  will  never  be  considered  so, 
and  the  report  of  the  son  to  his  father  will  vindicate  him 
completely  from  that  accusation. 

As  to  the  age  when  such  conduct  between  teacher  and 
scholar  can  take  place,  there  is  nothing  definite  to  be  said, 
and  it  is  in  fact  in  all  cases  improper  to  limit  the  passage  from 
one  degree  of  instruction  to  the  other  by  the  age.  The 
young  human  being  ought  to  be  taken  and  classed  according 
to  his  moral  and  intellectual  standing,  and  not  according  to 
the  mere  animal  criterion  of  his  age.  (I  had  in  Virginia, 
lads  of  14  years,  certainly  superior  in  every  respect  to  many 
of  mature  age,  and  equally  as  capable  to  be  guided  by  friend- 
ship.) Climate  and  accessary  circumstances  have  great  in- 
fluence in  this  respect,  which  to  discuss  is  not  here  the  place, 
as  it  would  lead  me  in  too  far. 

Rewards  and  punishments  have  in  any  case  an  im- 
proper tendency,  as  they  lead  either  to  vanity,  or  to  depres- 
sion and  animosity;  if,  however,  they  may  be  admitted  as 
means  of  emulation  for  the  boy,  when  the  jealousy  of  his 


262 


fellow  scholars  is  not  yet  so  lively  as  in  later  ages,  they  are 
entirely  improper  and  inadequate  in  colleges,  or  its  cor- 
responding stage  of  education,  and  still  worse  it  is  to  make 
the  mechanical  passage  through  a  college  the  criterion  for 
obtaining  a  degree,  as  it  is  called,  which  in  fact,  in  the  man- 
ner it  which  it  is  habitual  in  the  American  colleges,  is  not  a 
degree  of  merit,  but  merely  the  indication  of  the  year  when 
the  scholar  leaves  the  college,  often  with  the  wish  never  to 
look  at  it  again,  or  glad  to  be  allowed  to  forget  what  he  was 
told  in  it. 

That  no  other  punishment  can  be  proper  towards  a 
collegiate  scholar,  than  proper  remonstrances  or  simple  dis- 
missal, without  either  dishonor,  or  exclusion  from  seeking 
instruction  elsewhere,  is  too  evident,  according  to  my  views  of 
the  subject,  to  need  speaking  upon;  the  odious  nature  of  any 
other  punishment,  and  the  improper  excitement  which  it 
would  show,  or  call  forth,  on  the  part  of  the  faculty  of  a 
college,  to  judge  in  her  own  proper  cause,  are  too  evident 
not  to  force  themselves  upon  every  reflecting  mind. 

It  is  proper  to  touch  here  one  peculiar  feature  of  the 
system  of  education  of  the  United  States  at  that  stage,  namely, 
the  collegiate  life.  It  is,  historically  as  well  as  by  the  name 
itself,  well  known  to  be  of  monkish  origin;  it  is  the  rem- 
nant of  the  habit  of  educating  youth  in  convents;  it  is  the 
constant  source  of  dissention  between  the  faculty  and  the 
student,  which  regard  only  the  cook  or  boarding  house  lady 
and  the  boarder.   This  has  been  seen  by  many  colleges,  and 


263 


the  deleterious  habit  begins  to  loose  itself  daily,  so  that 
it  needs  properly  no  more  to  be  battled  against,  but  the  conti- 
nuance of  this  reform  to  be  recommended.  The  educa- 
tion of  the  young  man  and  its  corporal  feeding  must  be 
separated.  A  place  where  a  college  is  placed  must  afford  the 
student  the  means  of  decent  living;  if  it  does  not,  it  shows 
that  it  is  too  much  secluded  from  the  society  of  men,  to  be 
able  to  educate  a  man  for  the  society  he  is  destined  to  enter. 

Arriving  at  the  last  stage  of  education,  the  most  general 
one,  or  so  called  University;  we  have  no  more  to  do  with 
age,  with  distinction,  rewards  or  punishments,  in  short  the 
instructer  and  the  instructed  stand  towards  one  another  in 
the  relation  of  man  to  man,  exchanging  their  mutual  wants. 
The  student,  young  or  old,  already  well  informed  or  ignorant, 
must  be  considered  as  being  present  with  the  determined  aim 
and  view  to  his  intellectual  improvement,  and  able  to  guide 
himself  in  all  his  conduct  in  his  common  life,  only  searching 
for  the  instruction  which  the  Professor  or  instructer  must  give 
to  him  liberally  and  without  any  other  intermixture,  unless 
it  should  be  called  for  by  the  student.  The  discipline  is 
confined  to  the  lecture  room  alone,  and  here  the  Professor 
has  the  simple  task  to  propose  his  science  upon  the  best  and 
simplest  principles,  and  in  the  most  tried  manner,  and  by  the 
interest  and  value  which  he  attaches  to  it,  make  it  agreeable 
and  desirable  to  his  hearers.  Examinations,  which  in  colle- 
ges become  disagreeable,  and  even  odious,  are  here  entirely 
to  be  prohibited.  What  the  scholar  acquires  shall  be  his 
own,  upon  which  the  Professor  has  no  account  to  ask  of 


264 


him.  The  advantages  which  he  will  reap  from  his  acquire- 
ments in  future  life,  are  his  reward,  and  his  failure  his 
punishment. 

The  police  or  discipline  as  it  may  be  called,  is  limited 
to  the  lecture  room,  the  Professor  who  should  be  unable 
to  acquire  over  his  students  the  ascendancy  required  to 
keep  them  in  due  order,  that  is,  prevent  excesses  or  distur- 
bance, is  not  a  fit  man  to  fill  the  station,  for  here  all  boyish- 
ness, that  is,  errors  of  want  of  reflection,  cannot  take  place, 
and  experience  proves  that  it  does  not  take  place. 

Against  this  liberal  discipline  the  example  of  the  Vir- 
ginia University  has,  very  erroneously,  been  alleged,  by 
way  of  disapprobation ,  or  as  a  failure ;  it  affords  no  proof  of  that 
kind.  The  erroneous  system  of  collegiate  life  has  been  pre- 
served in  it;  the  locality  is  insulated  and  the  constant  same- 
ness of  the  company,  of  fellow  students  only,  produces  the 
bad  results  of  tedious,  and  too  close  influence,  between 
the  students,  even  with  the  Professors.  Besides  that,  the 
architect  of  that  building,  the  well  informed,  philosophical, 
and  amiable  Jefferson,  died  before  it  was  finished;  for  the 
construction  of  such  an  institution  is  not  finished,  with  the 
walls  that  enclose  its  lecture  rooms,  or  the  dwellings;  the 
organization  can  only  be  the  result  of  several  years  actual 
activity  of  the  institution,  particularly  when  the  plan  is  novel 
in  the  place  where  it  is  established.  To  this  is  still  to  be 
added ,  that  the  Professors  appointed  there  were  all  accustomed 
to  the  collegiate  life,  and  therefore  not  likely  of  such  disposi- 


265 


tions  as  to  be  proper  secundents  to  the  liberal  plans  of  the 
original  founder. 

In  a  University  the  degree  of  doctor,  or  whatever  it 
may  be  called,  for  only  one  must  exist,  cannot  depend  on 
the  years  of  presence,  not  even  of  the  peculiarity  of  having 
performed  the  studies  or  acquired  the  knowledge  in  the  insti- 
tution that  confers  this  degree;  it  is  to  be  determined  by  the 
satisfactory  proof  to  the  whole  faculty  that  the  acquirements 
that  may  entitle  to  the  degree  are  really  possessed  by  the 
applicant,  and  then  alone  an  examination  can  take  place; 
and  this  must  not  only  be  verbal  and  strict,  but  an  actual 
work  in  writing  produced  by  the  candidate,  as  a  product  of 
his  own  intellect,  and  knowledge,  independent,  and  grounded 
on  views  of  his  own,  not  a  mere  copy  or  compilation,  must 
testify  to  his  capacity,  and  to  the  right  to  the  distinction 
which  he  claims. 

In  respect  to  all  young  or  old  men  who  would  avail 
themselves  of  the  instruction  presented  by  a  University,  the 
institution  must  be  satisfied  with  the  consciousness  of  the 
good,  which  it  cannot  fail  to  produce,  and  there  is  not  the 
least  doubt  that  in  a  nation  of  so  much  activity,  and  strife 
for  advancement  and  distinction,  men  of  all  classes  and  all 
dispositions,  capacities  and  views,  will  resort  to  such  a  liberal 
institution,  and  procure  ample  scope  of  utility,  as  well  for  the 
acquirement  of  an  eminent  standing  in  the  institution.  It 
must,  however,  be  said  that  on  this  liberal  plan,  and  with  this 
freedom  of  access  and  from  restraint,  besides  the  other  quali- 

34 


266 


fications,  which  it  does  not  belong  under  this  head  to 
enumerate,  the  intended  University  of  New  York  can  hope 
so  desirable  success,  of  calling  to  its  halls  the  men  who, 
after  a  neglected  early  education,  by  circumstances  of  what- 
ever nature  they  may  be,  are  actually  so  desirous  to  see 
means  presented  to  them  to  recover  at  a  later  period  of  life 
this  loss,  and  probably  proceed  farther  than  at  the  present 
moment  is  expected.  Certainly  no  body  would  ever  think 
to  apply  to  such  men  the  discipline  of  a  convent,  school  or 
college. 


APPENDIX  I¥o.  V. 


SUGGESTIONS     ON     THE     PROPER     MODE     OF      CONDUCTING 
EDUCATION   IN  COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES. 

The  existence  of  the  soul  is  made  known  to  us  by  con- 
sciousness; but  its  formation,  character,  qualities  and  opera- 
tions differ  so  much,  from  those  of  every  thing  else,  with 
which  we  are  acquainted  directly  through  perception,  that 
we  desire  a  farther  knowledge  of  ourselves,  than  of  our  mere 
existence  as  intellectual  beings:  but  it  is  difficult  to  look 
inwardly  on  oneself,  and  the  glimpses  of  our  nature  are  dark 
and  dubious;  the  mind  cannot  act  and  at  the  same  time 
examine  its  action,  in  as  much  as  such  examination  is  a  new 
and  distinct  act,  two  of  which  cannot  be  performed  at  the 
same  time;  in  reasoning  concerning  it,  we  therefore  compare 
its  operations  to  those  of  thematerial  world,  thereby  acquiring, 
if  not  so  correct,  at  least  a  more  vivid  conception :  Addison 
elegantly  compares  the  mind  to  marble  in  a  quarry,  which 
requires  polishing  to  display  the  beauties  of  its  variegated 
colors  and  veins;  ancient  philosophers  termed  it  a  blank 
sheet,  capable  of  receiving  any  impression  and  conveying  it 
to  others :  I  would  rather  consider  it  as  a  seed,  containing  in 
itself  the  germ  of  the  future  vine,  which,  with  all  its  branches , 


268 


leaves  and  tendrils,  will  be  developed,  though  the  gardener 
does  not  water  its  roots  or  destroy  the  worm  that  is  gnawing 
them,  but  whose  luxuriance  may  be  repressed,  its  course 
directed,  its  wounds  healed,  its  tender  shoots  supported  and  a 
better  and  more  abundant  fruit  be  obtained  from  it,  by  the 
care  and  experience  and  industry  of  man :  education  then  is 
to  the  mind,  what  agriculture  is  to  the  vine,  and  the  rules  for 
such  culture  are  among  the  most  difficult  problems  of  practi- 
cal wisdom. 

The  human  faculties  consist  of  three  great  classes,  moral, 
intellectual  and  physical,  which  must  all  be  cultivated  in 
bringing  the  whole  being  to  maturity :  but  the  first  object  of 
the  instructer  should  be  to  improve  the  moral  faculties :  I  do 
not  intend  to  examine  the  first  efforts  of  the  mind  in  the 
dawn  of  intellect,  though  on  them  the  foundation  of  the 
human  character  is  laid,  and  in  them  the  innate  propensities 
of  the  animal  part  of  man,  his  covetousness,  irritability  and 
restlessness  are  exhibited;  care,  therefore,  must  be  taken 
never,  on  any  account,  to  gratify  the  cravings  of  selfishness, 
yield  to  the  impulses  of  humor,  or  repress,  so  far  as  it  is  not 
actually  injurious,  desire  for  employment;  selfishness,  when 
it  finds  it  must  give  way  to  the  wishes  of  others,  will  become 
softened  by  feelings  of  benevolence;  impatience  of  restraint, 
unindulged,  will  sink  into  contentedness  with  what  is  una- 
voidable. 

Attention  must  be  paid  to  the  peculiar  character  of  the  first 
displays  of  mental  exertion;  if  the  mind,  having  mastered 


269 


the  first  elements  of  learning,  becomes  elate  with  success,  and 
fancies  itself  capable  of  easily  overcoming  the  remaining 
steps,  it  is  apt  to  neglect  necessary  labor  and  precaution,  to 
exert  itself  irregularly,  and  finally  yield  to  indolence,  which  is 
the  consequence  of  too  great  security;  we  should  therefore 
strive  from  time  to  time  to  throw  in  the  way,  little  obstacles  to 
be  surmounted,  not  sufficient  to  damp  ardor,  but  to  incite  to, 
and  keep  up  a  perpetual  motive  for  exertion ;  and  these  should 
be  of  that  kind  which  it  is  useful  to  overcome,  but  which 
might,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  instruction,  meet  the  stu- 
dent at  a  somewhat  later  period;  self  conceit  is  dangerous, 
because  unperceived  by  its  possessor,  and  must  be  crushed  in 
the  bud,  ere  it  create  self  sufficiency,  arrogance  and  negligence. 
Again,  those  who  meet  with  obstacles  through  diffidence  or 
sluggishness,  should  be  aided,  supported  and  cheered;  we 
should  explain  to  them  again  and  again  the  nature  of  the 
obstacle  and  the  means  of  removing  it ;  we  should  strive  to 
appear  to  endeavor,  and  to  plan  how  to  surmount  it,  to  lead 
them  onwards  with  us  in  the  same  steps,  and  to  urge  them  if 
it  be  necessary ;  our  triumph  should  be  apparently  the  result 
of  joint  exertion,  or  at  least  owing  to  themselves. 

When  a  plan  of  education  is  adopted  and  its  exigencies 
complied  with  by  many,  there  must  be  no  distinction  made 
among  those  who  are  pursuing  it;  if  the  possession  of  a 
quantum  of  property  be  made  the  qualification  of  a  voter  in 
a  state,  no  distinction  is  to  be  made  between  those,  who  but 
just  possess  that  quantum,  and  the  owner  of  millions,  in  the 
eye  of  the  law;  so  in  the  republic  of  learning,  all  who  pur- 


270 


sue  the  studies  which  will  in  the  end  entitle  them  to  the 
rights  of  citizenship,  have  equal  privileges,  without  recogni- 
tion of  ranks,  parties  or  sects;  talent  and  virtue  alone  are  to 
be  regarded,  and  the  aim  should  be  to  raise  the  humble  to  a 
level  with  the  high. 

Care  should  always  be  taken,  not  to  ascribe  want  of  abi- 
lity to  want  of  will,  or  the  reverse,  or  to  set  down  as  incorrigi- 
ble stupidity,  what  proceeds  from  the  defects  in  the  method 
of  instruction.  Every  one  is  capable  of  being  roused  up  by 
his  peculiar  motive.  Some  need  the  spur,  some  to  be  led 
until  they  have  gained  the  confidence  and  habits,  to  enable 
them  to  go  on  with  speed  and  certainty;  I  would  not  have  a 
mind  neglected,  because  it  is  dull,  or  terrified  by  harshness 
out  of  the  little  will  and  ability,  it  ever  had;  but  to  them 
should  a  cheering  voice  be  uttered,  for  them  the  teacher 
should  strive  to  make  the  path  plain;  let  him  remember,  he 
himself  has  had  difficulties,  which  only  renewed  and  con- 
tinued efforts  have  borne  him  through :  it  is  a  well  admitted 
fact,  that  those  who  are  far  advanced,  forget  the  difficul- 
ties they  met  with  in  their  former  course,  and  fancy  what 
appears  evident  to  them,  is  also  evident  to  others,  and  cannot 
enter  into  another's  feelings ;  the  proper  remedy  for  this  diffi- 
culty is  to  have  instructers  or  rather  examiners,  if  I  may  so 
call  them,  who  can  find  where  the  point  of  misapprehension 
lies,  and  who  have  not  so  long  since  passed  over  the  same 
ground,  as  to  forget  its  rough  places;  while  these  should  in 
turn  receive  instruction  from  more  advanced  persons.  It  is 
naturally  expected  that  those  who  are  engaged  in  communi- 


271 


eating  knowledge  to  large  bodies,  cannot  exactly  meet  the 
views  of  each,  or  even  ascertain  how  much  benefit  they  have 
derived  from  each  communication;  this  I  would  therefore 
leave  to  the  second  class  of  examiners,  who  being  more  nume- 
rous, might  be  able  to  give  a  greater  attention  to  each  indivi- 
dual of  that  body.  In  every  institution  for  the  advancement 
of  education,  there  should  be  two  classes  of  instructers,  Pro- 
fessors and  Tutors;  the  former  should  communicate  the 
knowledge  they  have  acquired,  by  deep  and  long  investiga- 
tion, either  by  lectures,  or  books,  or  by  both,  while  the  duty  of 
the  latter  should  be  to  see  how  far  the  learner  has  profited  by 
this  instruction;  and  this,  from  having  heard  the  same 
ground  frequently  gone  over,  they  are  enabled  to  do  with 
great  effect ;  the  latter  class  should  be  rigorously  examined  ere 
they  are  admitted,  and  should  be  again  equally  rigorously  ex- 
amined ere  they  are  admitted  to  the  higher  grade  of  Profes- 
sors. 

The  enterprising  and  intelligent  must  not  be  detained  on 
account  of  the  dull  and  ignorant;  if  the  latter,  having  in 
vain  attempted  to  keep  pace  with  the  former,  finds  himself 
behind,  he  is  apt  to  give  up  his  career  in  disgust,  or  is  borne 
on  without  knowing  whither,  and  finally,  through  misapplied 
benevolence,  is  enabled  to  put  a  bold  front  on  his  ignorance, 
and  stalk  about  with  all  the  dignity  which  parchment  and 
seals  can  bestow;  those,  therefore,  who  are  unequal  to  the 
task,  should  be  allowed  to  fall  behind,  until  by  repeated  trials 
they  are  enabled  to  pass  over  the  same  ground,  their  former 
more  gifted  associates  trod  long  since. 


272 


As  to  the  mode  in  which  instruction  should  be  received,  I 
would  remark,  that  separate  classes  are  dangerous ;  the  youth, 
who  enters  a  University,  just  escaping  from  the  watchfulness 
and  over  anxiety  of  parental  care,  and  mingling  with  his 
equals,  begins  to  acquire,  by  collision,  the  hardihood  which  is 
to  prepare  him  for  the  world's  rude  shocks;  he  is  then  at  the 
most  critical  period  of  existence,  for  bad  habits  are  then  easi- 
ly acquired  or  broken ;  he  should  therefore  be  prevented  from 
forming  companions,  because  they  are  in  the  same  institution, 
or  joined  together  by  the  same  ties  of  being  assembled  togeth- 
er in  the  same  place ;  he  should  perceive  that  he  comes  to  learn, 
that  if  he  outstrips  his  competitors,  he  must  move  onward, 
and  the  feeling  of  emulation  supersedes  that  of  companion- 
ship; he  is  not  obliged  to  remain  in  the  same  place  with 
them ,  and  consequently  loses  the  prejudices  of  companionship, 
which  produce  injurious  consequences;  it  more  resembles  the 
great  world,  where  each  man  presses  forward  in  his  own  ca 
reer,  without  regarding  those  around  him ;  for  when  men  are 
associated  by  a  stricter  bond  of  union,  one  is  apt  to  consider 
an  injury  to  another,  an  injury  to  himself,  and  openly  to 
resist  the  authority  which  is  necessarily  and  properly  ex- 
ercised. Classification  is  apt  to  produce  favoritism;  it  is 
the  peculiar  constitution  of  the  human  mind  to  be  pleased 
with  the  possession  of  power,  and  nothing  so  delights 
a  little  mind  as  the  dispensation  of  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments; Dionysius  was  not  less  a  tyrant  over  boys  at 
Corinth  than  over  men  at  Syracuse;  it  is  destructive  to 
good  order,  for  the  members  of  classes  unite  to  oppose 
proper  authority;  and  the  feeling  that  through  a  class- 


273 


mate  a  class  has  been  insulted,  will  produce  obstinacy  in 
the  most  honorable  minds,  the  bloody  laws  of  a  Draco  ought 
not  to  be  necessary  in  a  civilized  community.  When  all  are 
upon  the  same  footing  totally  disconnected  with  each  other, 
the  distinction  can  be  made  between  the  thoughtlessness  of 
exuberant  spirits,  and  the  settled  purpose  of  intended  mis- 
chief ;  the  former  can  be  repressed  by  dignified  yet  affectionate 
rebuke,  for  the  fountain  of  feeling  will  gush  at  the  touch  of 
a  Moses'  rod  from  the  rock  which  a  Sampson's  strength 
might  in  vain  strive  to  cleave.  But  wilful  obstinate  disobedi- 
ence must  be  repressed  by  severer  methods,  the  knife  must  be 
used  when  medicine  fails ;  there  is,  then,  no  object  for  students 
to  resort  to  any  means  for  acquiring  favor,  but  by  their  own 
deserts ;  no  humoring  of  a  professor's  or  instructer's  foibles,  no 
hypocritical  pretence  can  win  the  crown  of  learning;  for 
others  are  to  test  their  success,  and  examine  their  claims,  &c. 
Their  reward  will  depend  not  in  what  they  have  learned  but 
on  what  they  have  retained. 

The  faculties  of  the  intellect  are  three,  judgment,  memory, 
and  imagination;  there  may  perhaps  be  some  difference  of 
opinion,  as  to  the  cultivation  which  each  requires;  but  it 
must  be  allowed  that  without  judgment,  imagination  bewil- 
ders, and  memory  overloads  the  mind,  while  it  even  without 
them,  is  a  sufficient  guide  through  unknown  and  perplexing 
paths :  in  all  plans  of  instruction,  therefore,  the  improvement 
of  this  faculty  should  be  first  regarded;  for  this  purpose  the 
study  of  peculiar  branches  of  science  is  beneficial,  producing 

close  application  to  causes  and  effects,  circumstances  and 

35 


271 


character  separating  truth  from  falsehood,  distinguishing 
sophistry  from  argument,  probabilities  from  certainties,  gene- 
rals from  particulars,  for  on  all  these  depends  judgment. 
Among  these  branches  may  be  enumerated  mathematics, 
history,  logic,  natural  philosophy,  metaphysics,  political 
economy  and  moral  philosophy;  by  mathematics,  the  stu- 
dent learns  to  abstract  all  other  considerations  from  bodies 
but  those  of  number,  size,  shape,  and  motion;  from  history 
he  gathers  facts,  and  a  knowledge  of  man's  conduct,  and  by 
it  traces  the  operations  of  moral  causes;  by  logic  he  detects 
falsehood,  and  analyzes  closely  reasonings  and  arguments; 
by  natural  philosophy  he  learns  practical  knowledge  and 
disciplines  his  inventive  powers;  metaphysics  teaches  him 
the  nature  of  his  immortal  part  and  the  movements  within; 
political  economy  exhibits  the  operations  of  peculiar  laws, 
customs,  principles  and  circumstances,  in  increasing  the 
wealth  of  nations;  while  moral  philosophy  shows  his  duty  to 
his  fellows,  and  gives  a  high  tone  of  feeling,  correct  opinions, 
whereby  he  pursues  an  honest  and  undeviating  course,  and 
those  principles  of  conduct,  which  change  not  in  prosperity  or 
adversity,  in  honor  or  disgrace,  not  even  when  all  things  else 
change  and  fall  in  ruins  around  him:  it  were  worse  than 
useless  for  me  to  attempt  to  expatiate  upon  the  advantage  of 
these  studies;  let  those,  who  have  gathered  into  their  own 
granaries  the  plenteous  harvest,  display  the  value  of  their 
treasures;  I  can  only  stand  in  the  outer  court  and  invite  the 
passers  by,  to  the  feast  which  loftier  and  better  instructed 
minds  have  prepared  for  them.  Perhaps  some  will  say, 
the  mind,  when  unformed  and  unused  to  abstract  reason- 
ing, is  incapable  of  comprehending  the  beautiful  simplicity 


275 


of  a  mathematical  demonstration;  to  this  we  reply,  that 
learning  is  progressive,  and  that  we  must  not  at  any  time 
tax  the  faculties  beyond  what  they  will  bear:  the  memory 
must  undoubtedly  be  first  cultivated,  in  order  that  we 
may  recur  to  admitted  first  principles;  the  mind  must 
receive  impressions  and  be  capable  of  calling  them  up 
at  will;  it  must  know  that  many  things  are,  without  know- 
ing why  they  are;  it  must  receive  complex  ideas,  before  it 
can  separate  them  into  their  component  parts ;  but  this  should 
not  be  all,  it  is  not  sufficient  to  commit  to  memory  the  con- 
tents of  books;  the  very  moment  the  mind  begins  to  com- 
pare object  with  object,  to  observe  similarity  or  dissimilarity, 
analogy  or  opposition,  should  be  seized  upon,  as  the  opening 
blossom  of  judgment,  and  from  that  time  should  the  instruc- 
ter  excite  and  goad  the  naturally  thoughtless  mind  into  a 
restless  inquiry  after  truth  and  goodness;  no  opportunity,  no 
desire,  no  appetite,  no  action  should  escape,  without  being 
converted  into  means  for  this  grand  end:  undoubtedly,  the 
memory  should  be  cultivated  diligently,  nay,  by  artificial 
means ;  for  this  purpose  three  things  are  necessary,  repetition, 
system,  and  interest:  as  a  general  rule,  words  alone  ought 
not  to  be  committed  to  memory,  but  ideas;  if  the  pupil 
understands  any  part  of  the  subject  on  which  he  has  been 
employed,  let  him  alone,  or  let  him  pass  to  a  new  subject; 
what  he  has  learned  has  been  from  its  intrinsic  interest  and 
from  an  exercise  of  his  judgment;  if  you  tax  his  memory 
farther,  he  ceases  to  receive  ideas  of  things,  and  acquires  only 
the  impression  of  sounds  or  their  written  symbols;  if  the 
process  is  continued,  he  ceases  to  reflect,  and  learns  what  he 
will  soon  forget;  the  mere  desire  of  finishing  his  task  urges 


276 


him  on,  and  when  it  is  finished,  he  has  accomplished  the 
whole  object  of  his  labor;  unless  he  have  a  most  vigorous 
natural  understanding,  it  will  hardly  survive  the  shock. 

With  regard  to  the  imagination;  it  is  a  faculty  which 
needs  the  rein  rather  than  the  spur,  and  is  apt  to  waste  its 
strength  upon  frivolous  and  puerile  conceits,  when  it  should 
restrain  its  fervor  to  give  buoyancy  to  the  eagle  flight  of  rea- 
son ;  for  it  aids  by  its  power  of  vivid  and  strong  conceptions 
the  exertions  of  the  other  faculties;  hence  stories  of  the 
marvellous  gain  such  strong  hold  upon  the  memory  because 
they  win  upon  the  imagination  and  imprint  every  detail  on 
the  mind  in  deep  and  ineffaceable  colors :  all  hypotheses  are 
but  schemes  formed  by  imagination,  and  every  established 
theory  in  physical  science  has  been  adopted  by  testing  hypo- 
theses: every  creation  of  ideas  in  the  mind,  not  produced  by 
external  objects,  is  affected  by  the  imagination;  in  its  restric- 
ted sense,  however,  it  is  only  applied  to  a  perception  of  the 
similarity  or  dissimilarity  of  objects  in  thematerial, moral  and 
intellectual  world,  and  requires  to  be  checked,  directed,  and 
trimmed  into  beauty,  for  which  purpose  a  continued  acquain- 
tance with  the  best  models,  and  a  strict  adherence  to  the  rules 
of  good  taste,  to  be  acquired  from  such  acquaintance  and 
from  a  study  of  rhetoric  and  belles  lettres,  is  indispensably 
necessary. 

There  is  another  subject  of  study  upon  which  there  appears 
to  be  a  diversity  of  opinion,  I  mean  the  classics;  by  some 
they  are  considered  as  the  very  foundation  of  a  liberal  educa- 
tion, as  the  test  of  scholarship  and  learning,  without  which 


277 


learning  is  but  common  place,  and  scientific  acquirements  vul- 
gar; it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  trace  this  opinion  to  its  source, 
to  stir  up  the  clouds  that  hover  over  the  dark  ages,  in  order  to 
shew  the  utter  barbarism  which  prevailed  in  every  other  lan- 
guage except  those  which  are  termed  dead,  or  the  monopoly 
of  learning  in  the  hands  of  monks,  and  the  exclusion  of  the 
mass,  by  locking  up  knowledge  in  an  unknown  tongue,  and 
perverting  truth  and  establishing  error  without  the  fear  of 
contradiction;  I  need  not  speak  of  the  cultivation,  bestowed 
upon  languages,  in  which  their  text  books  were  written  by 
those  of  the  legal  profession,  who  have  ever  had  in  civilized 
communities,  a  commanding  influence,  or  how  long  that  pro- 
fession was  in  the  hands  of  those  who  professed  to  regulate 
the  civil  as  well  as  the  religious  conduct  of  mankind;  suffice 
it  to  say,  that  it  is  an  error  of  long  standing,  and  which  is 
supported  as  much  by  its  antiquity  as  by  any  other  reason ; 
let  me  be,  however,  fully  understood ;  I  do  not  wish  to  under- 
value this  study,  it  is  useful  as  a  key  to  unlock  treasures,  but 
it  depends  much  on  the  possessor  whether  he  chooses  to  open 
the  cabinet.  It  must  be  admitted,  that  all  the  important  facts 
and  doctrines  contained  in  the  writings  of  antiquity,  can  be 
obtained  without  reading  them  in  the  original,  and  it  must  be 
remembered  that  my  scheme  of  instruction  has  only  to  do 
with  facts  and  doctrines.  I  would  ask  if  Euclid  is  not  under- 
stood by  those  who  have  never  seen  it  in  Greek,  and  if  it  injures 
the  truth  of  his  demonstrations  because  they  have  not  been 
so  seen?  Are  there  not  many  who  profess  to  be  classical 
scholars,  who  know  the  history  of  antiquity  only  through  the 
medium  of  translations  ?  Let  us  carry  the  same  principle  con- 
tended for  by  my  opponents  farther;  there  are  sciences 


278 


and  systems  which  owe  their  creation  to  modern  genius. 
Would  you  make  it  necessary,  absolutely  and  indispensa- 
bly necessary  for  a  chemist  to  study  French,  because 
Fourcroy  has  written  an  excellent  treatise  on  chemistry,  or 
would  you  require  the  student  in  astronomy  to  do  the  same 
because  La  Place  has  composed  an  admirable  work  upon  it? 
My  object  would  be,  to  bestow  practical  wisdom,  useful 
knowledge,  on  the  whole  of  mankind,  or  as  great  a  num- 
ber as  was  practicable,  but  the  classics  cannot  certainly  come 
in  under  this  head;  if  any  one  should  object,  that  I  seek  to 
throw  contempt  upon  the  venerable  relics  of  the  wise  of  past 
ages,  I  deny  the  charge;  if  you  wish  for  grace  of  style, 
vigorous  turns  of  expression,  expressive  epithets  and  harmo- 
nious periods,  learn  Greek  and  Latin ;  but  if  you  seek  for  the 
wisdom  which  is  to  guide  you  in  every  day  life,  you  must  add 
something  more;  I  would  give  these  their  due  attention,  but 
I  would  abandon  them  when  they  interfered  with  more  im- 
portant pursuits  and  studies. 

In  respect  to  rewards  and  punishments,  it  must  be  obser- 
ved, that  men  in  large  bodies  or  in  small  are  operated  on  in 
the  same  way;  and,  that  the  excitement  produced  by  fear 
and  hope  is  in  proportion  not  only  to  the  event  hoped  for  or 
feared,  but  also  to  its  distance;  hence  the  mind,  which  pants 
for  the  distinction  which  it  expects  to  receive  from  the  great 
world,  as  a  reward  for  its  learning  and  virtue,  is  apt  to  halt 
and  stumble  in  its  initiatory  course  in  a  University,  unless 
buoyed  up  by  the  hope  of  some  immediate  return  for  its  ex- 
ertions; and  this  is  particularly  the  case  with  youth,  which 
is  proverbially  fickle,  despondent  and  indecisive;  rewards 


279 


should  therefore  be  given,  in  every  institution  for  education, 
not  great  in  value,  nor  as  matters  of  course,  but  honorable 
on  account  of  their  difficulty,  and  bestowed  only  after  a 
rigorous  examination  of  the  merits  of  the  candidate,  and 
varying  according  to  the  result  of  that  examination.  These 
rewards  should  be  of  two  kinds;  firstly,  testimonials  of  ad- 
vancement, and  secondly,  prizes  for  particular  efforts;  the 
first  should  be  given  for  success  in  the  different  studies  pur- 
sued, and  occasionally  for  a  remarkable  display  of  industry 
and  talent;  the  second  for  essays  on  various  subjects,  to  be 
proposed  by  the  literary  executive,  if  I  may  use  the  term,  con- 
nected with  some  of  the  different  courses,  and  also  for  sup- 
porting the  soundest  opinions  most  ably  in  literary  and 
scientific  discussions,  which  I  would  also  have  introduced, 
and  in  which  a  professor  himself  might  deign  to  sit  as  um- 
pire, to  point  out  false  assumptions  and  erroneous  reasonings, 
and  give  his  pupils  habits  of  original  thinking  and  system- 
atizing their  thoughts:  punishments  should  always  be  inflic- 
ted, after  conviction,  by  the  delinquent's  equals ;  not  that  they 
should  fix  the  punishment,  but  merely  determine  on  his 
criminality;  it  throws  upon  him  the  feeling  of  shame  which 
arises  from  condemnation  by  his  equals,  it  puts  them  upon 
their  sense  of  what  is  right  and  honorable,  and  does  away 
with  all  those  feelings,  whereby  the  culprit  is  considered  a 
martyr  to  independence,  his  judges  as  tyrannical  and  arbi- 
trary7 despots. 

Public  exhibitions,  I  am  inclined  to  think,  have  an  evil 
tendency ;  they  supplant  solidity  by  showiness,  make  learning 
to  be  considered  a  matter  of  parade,  produce  conceit  on  the 


280 


part  of  the  actors,  and  implant  the  first  seeds  of  pedantry ; 
besides  they  are  no  test  of  the  excellencies  of  an  institution 
or  its  mode  of  teaching,  for  it  may  be  a  prepared  display, 
which  has  cost  a  little  drilling  of  the  soldiers,  but  which  in 
the  end  will  be  productive  of  evil  consequence;  let  the  exami- 
nations be  public,  if  you  please,  but  let  them  not  seem  to  be 
intended  solely  for  the  public. 

The  mind  should  be  relieved  by  occasional  abstinence 
from  tasking  its  utmost  powers;  nay,  perhaps  satiety  with 
indolence,  may  not  be  wholly  useless;  when  the  ever  mov- 
ing elements  of  our  being  have  wrestled  with  each  other  for 
want  of  some  subject  whereon  to  exert  their  strength,  and 
had  tortured  themselves  into  uneasiness,  it  is  perhaps  the  best 
time  to  present  an  object  worthy  of  their  attention,  whereon 
they  will  seize  with  the  avidity  of  hungry  appetite,  and  the 
energies  which  have  been  dammed  up,  like  the  river,  when 
its  sluices  are  opened,  rushes  forth  with  an  impetuosity  that 
is  felt  through  its  whole  length.  Every  one  has  seen  the 
efforts  of  which  a  powerful  mind  is  capable  when  roused  from 
a  long  repose  by  some  spirit  stirring  motive  into  immediate 
and  urgent  action.  But  we  should  be  cautious  how  we  prac- 
tice this  too  often,  lest  the  activity  of  the  mind  should  be 
ruined  by  inglorious  ease,  like  the  army  of  Hannibal  at  Ca- 
pua. 


APPENDIX  IV©.  VI. 


ON    THE    DEFECTS    OF    THE    PRESENT    SYSTEM    OF    INSTRUC- 
TION, BY  LIEUT.  MAHAN,  OF  WEST  POINT. 

The  subject  of  education,  is  one  in  which  every  member 
of  the  community  is  too  directly  concerned,  to  allow  me  to 
suppose  that  the  following  observations  will  meet  with  any 
other  than  a  kind  reception ;  I  therefore  make  no  excuse  for 
this  trespass  upon  the  notice  of  the  Convention. 

I  have  not  that  experience,  which  age  is  not  only  supposed, 
but  which  it  alone  can  give,  to  admit  of  my  speaking  other- 
wise than  by  way  of  conjecture,  on  the  subject  that  I  would 
beg  to  bring  the  more  directly  before  your  notice :  I  therefore 
throw  myself  upon  your  goodness  to  regard  this  as  the  feeble 
effort  of  a  very  young  man,  whose  mind  being  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  importance  of  the  subject  upon  which  it  has 
fixed  itself,  wishes  to  offer  his  mite,  if  it  be  found  worthy  of 
acceptance,  in  forwarding  its  interests. 

Since  graduating  at  this  institution,  and  indeed  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  that  I  was  a  student  here,  I  have 
been  called  upon  as  an  assistant  in  the  instruction  of  the 

36 


282 


mathematical  sciences  and  their  applications.  During  this 
period  I  have  been  daily  struck  with  the  observation  of  a 
deficiency  somewhere,  in  the  manner  or  matter,  or  perhaps 
both,  employed  in  most  of  our  elementary  schools  in  the 
preparation  of  the  young  mind  to  follow  those  branches. 

Independently  of  my  regular  class  duties,  it  has  happened 
to  me  to  take  into  my  own  room  some  young  member  of 
the  class,  who  was  found  behind  the  others,  for  the  purpose 
of  aiding  his  efforts  by  private  instruction.  This,  added  to 
what  I  recollect  of  the  loss  of  the  fifteen  first  years  of  my 
life,  has  convinced  me  that  there  is  a  radical  error  in  the  in- 
struction given  in  the  elementary  mathematics,  and  indeed 
in  most  other  branches  of  an  elementary  education .  I  am  not 
unapprised,  that  since  my  school-days,  much  has  been  done 
to  ameliorate  education.  I  have  followed  with  intense  interest 
the  noble  and  successful  efforts  of  New  York,  and  Massa- 
chusetts on  this  subject ;  I  have  regarded  with  feelings  of  true 
pride  the  energies  of  their  statesmen,  and  first  literary  bodies, 
directed  to  aid  and  develop  the  infant's  efforts,  not  thinking 
that  any  detail  was  beneath  their  attention  which  might 
effect  this  purpose.  Had  they  in  all  cases  been  seconded  by 
subordinates  capable  of  comprehending  and  entering  into  the 
spirit  of  their  views,  those  States  would  not  only  have  had  to 
shew  the  best  system  of  common  school  education  that  the 
world  probably  can  offer,  but  they  would  also  have  held  up  to 
the  eyes  of  the  world  a  superiority  which  they  might  have 
pointed  to  with  feelings  of  the  justest  and  proudest  exultation. 


283 


Much  has  been  done,  but  the  wise  scheme  of  Providence, 
which  has  subjected  the  present  state  of  man  to  continued 
and  approaching  trials  towards  perfectibility,  still  keeping  it 
always  beyond  his  grasp,  (that  the  energies  of  that  mind 
given  for  employment,  like  its  own  eternal  Founder,  should 
never  slumber,)  leaves  always  much  to  be  done,  and  he  who 
sits  down  and  says  the  work  is  over,  should,  like  the  neutral, 
in  the  system  of  the  celebrated  Grecian,  be  branded  with  in- 
famy. 

I  own  a  real  difficulty,  in  myself,  in  attacking  the  hydra 
of  abuses  in  education,  or  in  pointing  out  how  the  monster 
might  be  most  effectually  destroyed.  I  would,  however,  with 
all  due  reference  to  experience,  propose  to  call  the  attention  of 
the  Convention  to  a  few  points  which  might,  at  least,  be 
made  the  subject  of  inquiry. 

The  head  of  the  evil  that  I  complain  of,  it  appears  to  me, 
is  the  want  of  competent  instructers,  and  this  want  arises 
partly  from  the  want  of  a  preparatory  school  for  the  purpose 
of  furnishing  them ;  partly  from  a  want  of  that  just  considera- 
tion in  which  they  should  be  held  by  the  public;  and  partly 
from  a  want  of  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  talent  necessary 
for  instruction,  and  the  consequent  recompense  which  that 
talent,  like  every  thing  else,  must  command  when  brought 
into  the  market  of  life. 

Another  defect  in  many  branches  is  a  vicious  mode  in 
viewing  the  subject  under  consideration,  and  consequently  in 


284 


conveying  instruction  in  it.   This  evil  will  be  remedied  when 
we  have  destroyed  the  first. 

To  combat  the  first,  why  may  we  not  create  a  kind  of  nor- 
mal school  to  prepare  inst meters,  like  a  seminary  of  prepara- 
tion for  any  other  profession. 

The  influence  of  a  body,  like  the  one  now  about  to  assem- 
ble, over  public  opinion,  would,  in  this  case  be  immense;  free 
discussion  would  strike  out  the  best  paths  to  be  followed,  and 
our  country  might  then  be  provided  with  what  all,  who  have 
the  dearest  interests  of  society  at  heart,  would  hail  as  a  na- 
tional blessing. 

The  subject  and  incompetency  on  my  own  part,  will  pre- 
clude any  arguments  on  this  head,  to  shew  the  utility  of  such 
a  scheme.  I  would  simply  ask  why  is  a  graduate  in 
divinity,  in  law,  and  even  in  the  army,  regarded  with  a  kind 
of  respect  by  the  public,  which  the  teachers  in  most  of  our 
common  schools  do  not  receive? 

Why  do  their  supposed  talents  (I  here  leave  out  the  gradu- 
ate of  the  army)  command  a  higher  price  than  the  teacher  of 
an  elementary  school?  Public  opinion  invests  the  priest,  the 
physician,  &c.  with  a  robe  of  respect  and  places  them  in  a  chair 
of  state ;  whereas  the  school-master  is  clad  in  russet  and  left 
in  the  back  ground;  and  why?  Take  the  most  common 
man  in  the  community  and  ask  him  this  question,  his  answer 
is  plain,  "any  man  can  be  a  school-master,  and  no  man  whose 


285 


talents  will  command  a  higher  market  will  bring  them  into 
this."  And  yet  it  is  to  this  class  that  you  are  willing  to  en- 
trust your  child  during  the  most  interesting  and  most  mo- 
mentous period  of  his  life,  when  all  the  faculties  being  pliant 
and  easily  developed,  they  may  be  brought  into  any  form  or 
receive  any  bias, — bad  equally  with  good. 

And  what  is  this  public  opinion,  and  what  is  it  based  upon, 
I  pray  you?  If  I  have  not  deceived  myself  in  my  definition 
up  to  this  moment,  I  should  say  it  is  the  result  of  the  aggre- 
gate of  observation  in  a  community,  elicited  by  common  sense. 
As  to  its  basis  I  will  only  remark,  that  the  mass  of  mankind 
seldom  deceives  itself  with  regard  to  its  true  interests. 

To  combat  the  second,  I  would  here  bring  in  again  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Convention.  The  best  mode  of  instruction  in 
any  branch  can  only  be  found  out  by  experience :  facts,  and 
multiplied  facts,  can  alone  guide  us:  we  are  not  called  on  to 
operate  on  an  individual ,  but  upon  a  species .  I  would  merely 
hazard  a  suggestion  on  one  point  which  enters  into  elemen- 
tary education,  and  which  has  lately  been  brought  more  par- 
ticularly under  my  notice,  arithmetic.  Why  should  this  sub- 
ject be  taught  in  a  manner  different  from  a  theorem  or  a 
problem  of  Euclid?  it  also  being  essentially  composed  of 
theorems  and  problems,  requiring  the  same  rigour  of  demon- 
stration and  acuteness  of  analysis  as  the  former? 

As  to  the  branches  taught,  the  text  books  used,  and  a 
variety  of  other  details,  this  ought  very  properly  to  come 


286 


under  the  notice  of  this  assembly,  not  that  I  would  wish  any 
positive  act  of  authority  exercised.  Man  in  spite  of  his 
destination,  is  but  too  apt  to  become  a  creature  of  routine, 
therefore  trammel  him  as  little  as  possible :  like  commerce  let 
education  flow  in  a  free  channel.  Suggestion,  recommenda- 
tion, and  queries,  usually  divert  the  human  mind,  ever  alive 
to  its  own  interest,  into  the  proper  road. 

The  direct  influence  of  any  body  over  education  is  too 
plainly  shown  to  trust  to  it  for  the  best  effects.  Any  one  who 
has  paid  any  attention  to  the  manner  of  regulating  and  co- 
ordinating the  studies  of  the  common  schools  in  France,  for 
instance,  with  those  of  the  colleges,  by  positive  and  unalter- 
able rules  established  by  the  University,  will  see  that  the 
French  merchant's  reply  to  Colbert  when  he  asked  what  he 
could  do  for  the  trade,  laissezfaire,  will  apply  also  to  educa- 
tion. Stamp,  if  you  please,  for  it  will  do  well,  the  man  who 
is  to  teach,  with  your  diploma ;  and  the  book  to  be  taught,  and 
method  of  teaching,  with  your  recommendation,  mais  allors 
laissez  les  faire. 

FINIS. 


ERRATA. 

Page  9 — President  Cushing  of  Prince  Edivard  College,    Virginia,   read — 
Hamden  Sydney  College,  Virginia. 

10 — Don  S.  Gener — read  Don  T.  Gener. 

31 — 9th  line  from  the  bottom — for  vigorous — read  rigorous. 

69 — 14th  line  from  the  top — for  Nises — read  Nismes. 
133 — 5th  line — thoughs — read  thoughts. 

191 — 13th  line,  in  a  few  copies — for  Xenophen — read  Xenophon. 
212— 2d  line,  dele 'of.' 

259— 6th  line  from  bottom,  in  a  few  copies,  for  indepednt,  read — independent. 
261 — 4th  line  from  top,  after  confidence,  a  V 


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